Polish tennis player Iga Świątek defeated Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk 3:6, 6:1, 6:2 to advance to the WTA 1000 quarter-finals in Toronto. Świątek recovered from a severe opening set collapse on her serve to secure the victory. She will face either third-ranked Jessica Pegula or 17th-ranked Diana Shnaider in the next round.
Former Polish tennis player Wojciech Fibak has repeatedly defended Świątek's serve against critics, stating that everyone complains about her serve but he completely disagrees. Fibak acknowledged that her forehand can be unstable, but insisted her serve is not a weakness. However, her opening set performance tested that view when she won only one of 17 points on her own serve, leaving her biggest admirer close to changing his mind before her second set turnaround.
Świątek entered the match following three weeks of serve practice with Francisco Roig. She had served effectively in earlier rounds, defeating Czech player Sara Bejlek 6:0, 6:3 and Swiss player Viktoria Golubic 6:2, 6:1. Bejlek and Golubic managed to win only one of Świątek's service games each during those matches.
Those performances marked a clear improvement over Wimbledon, where Świątek lost her serve 10 times across three matches, averaging 3.33 service losses per match. However, facing 11th-ranked Kostyuk presented a much harder challenge than playing Bejlek, ranked 38th, or Golubic, ranked 51st.
Kostyuk entered the Toronto tournament in strong form, having reached the semi-finals at both Wimbledon and Roland Garros. In Paris, Kostyuk defeated Świątek 7:5, 6:1 in the fourth round. Kostyuk had also won titles in Madrid and Rouen earlier in the year, carrying a 30-6 record in 2026 into the match.
By contrast, eighth-ranked Świątek held a 25-12 record in 2026 without winning any titles or reaching a final, making her an underdog before the match. The first set reflected those pre-match struggles as Świątek suffered an extraordinary slump on serve.
First Set Collapse
Świątek won just one out of 17 points on her own serve during the first set, recording a 9 percent win rate. She won one out of 11 points on her first serve and zero out of six on her second serve. Of her four service games, Świątek lost three to love and one to 15.
Commenting on Canal+ Sport, former tennis player Klaudia Jans-Ignacik said during the broadcast that Świątek was simply afraid. Jans-Ignacik observed that Świątek struggled to decide whether to hit a soft second serve that allowed Kostyuk to step deep into the court for a return, or risk a longer serve that resulted in a double fault.
Świątek avoided losing the first set to zero by capitalizing on her return game. Kostyuk also struggled on serve but won 56 percent of her first serve points, taking 10 out of 18.
Second Set Comeback
Before the second set, Świątek took a toilet break while Kostyuk waited on court. Prior to their May match at Roland Garros, Kostyuk, the younger and less decorated of the two players, said she was looking forward to facing Świątek to test herself, despite having never beaten her previously. In Toronto, Kostyuk expressed similar excitement, stating she was curious to see what Świątek would figure out.
Świątek returned to court reset, quickly building a 3:0 lead and taking a service game to love to reach 4:1. After losing all four of her service games in the first set, Świątek won all of her service games in the second set, winning 21 out of 32 points on serve.
As the match progressed, Kostyuk lost her confidence after potentially looking ahead to the next round following the dominant first set. While Świątek had previously struggled in recent months to regain composure when forced into a corner by errors, she maintained her focus to complete the comeback.
The match showed that while technical issues persist with Świątek's serve, it remains effective enough to win difficult matches when her mindset is strong. World number eight Świątek now advances to the quarter-finals against Pegula or Shnaider.
