Świątek rallies past Kostiuk 3:6, 6:1, 6:2 to reach WTA 1000 Toronto quarterfinals

Comeback in Toronto

Iga Świątek advanced to the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000 National Bank Open in Toronto after defeating Marta Kostiuk 3:6, 6:1, 6:2 in the round of 16 on Saturday. The match lasted two hours and 11 minutes. Świątek, seeded seventh and currently ranked eighth in the world, lost the opening set in alarming fashion before turning the contest around with the help of a toilet break and tactical advice from her team.

The victory was Świątek's fourth in five meetings with Kostiuk. Her only loss to the Ukrainian came in the round of 16 at this year's French Open, a defeat she described as a moment when she felt tight and stressed. Kostiuk, seeded tenth and coached by Polish trainer Sandra Zaniewska, has reached the semifinals at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon in recent months.

First-set collapse

The opening set was defined by serve struggles for both players. Each woman was broken twice early on, but it was Kostiuk who found her range first. The Ukrainian broke Świątek to love for a 4:2 lead, and by that stage the Pole had won just 1 of 13 points on her own serve. That figure eventually stood at 1 of 17, a 6 percent success rate on serve. Kostiuk, for her part, won 44 percent of points on her own serve, also below standard but enough to take the set 6:3.

Tactical turnaround

After the first set, Świątek left the court and returned a different player. She credited tactical instructions from her team, which included sports psychologist Daria Abramowicz, who was shown regularly motivating the Pole during the broadcast. Head coach Francisco Roig was absent this week.

Świątek said the advice helped her see the match from a different perspective and hit with more power.

They were tactical tips. I'm grateful for that. Sometimes when you're playing you don't see everything. Getting another perspective helps. It was a few pieces of advice. They helped me improve. I felt I was playing well in the first set, but some shots could have been stronger. I implemented what they said and that was enough.

She held her serve to open the second set, broke Kostiuk twice, and closed it out 6:1. The third set followed a similar pattern, with Świątek breaking early and Kostiuk growing increasingly frustrated. The Ukrainian fought off five match points in the final game before succumbing 2:6.

Świątek's assessment

After the match, Świątek called it one of her best performances of the season.

I'm definitely in a different place. I feel I could play my tennis. At Roland Garros I couldn't really do that. So yes, I knew what to do, how to play. I was just focused the whole time. Until the end I was quite confident about my game plan and my strengths. I'm happy with how it came out.

She also revealed that she had arrived in North America early and attended an Ariana Grande concert in Boston, which she said helped her adjust to the weather and time zone ahead of the Toronto tournament.

Road to Toronto

Świątek had not played for a month following her third-round loss to Alexandra Eala at Wimbledon. She returned to competition in early August in Toronto, where she eliminated Czech Sara Bejlek 6:0, 6:3 and Swiss Viktorija Golubić 6:2, 6:1 in earlier rounds. Journalist Dawid Góra noted that while those wins came against lower-ranked opponents, the Kostiuk match represented a genuine test of Świątek's rebuilding process, one she passed by maintaining composure throughout.

Świątek will face either American Jessica Pegula or Russian Diana Shnaider in the quarterfinal on Monday.