Iga Świątek has advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2026 Canadian Open after staging an impressive comeback against Marta Kostyuk. Following her win, the Pole shed light on her mindset during the challenging encounter and revealed how she dealt with witnessing her opponent’s frustration.
What Iga Świątek Said After Beating Marta Kostyuk at the Canadian Open
Amid her underwhelming 2026 season, Świątek is putting together a resurgent campaign at the WTA 1000 event in Toronto. Following a first-round bye, the No. 7 seed claimed a dominant 6-0, 6-3 win over Sára Bejlek before cruising past Viktorija Golubic 6-2, 6-1 to book her spot in the fourth round.
Taking on No. 10 seed Marta Kostyuk, Świątek was forced to dig deep after the Ukrainian clinched the opening set 6-3. However, the Pole battled back strongly to claim a 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory in just over two hours.
During her post-match press conference, Świątek revealed that she felt calm even after losing the first set. She explained that, rather than feeling hopeless, she felt confident in knowing what she needed to change to turn the match around.
“I mean, I had a clear idea of what to change, and I felt what I’m doing wrong. I was calm because, like, the worst you can feel is either hopeless or you have no idea what to do. I didn’t have that today. That’s why I was, why I also kept my calm, and just trusted my plan that I had in my head, and, yeah, I felt calm (laughing),” Świątek said.
When asked how she felt when she saw her opponents like Kostyuk being visibly frustrated on the other side of the net, the six-time Grand Slam champion said that she found it satisfying when she took notice of it. However, she emphasized that she generally tries to stay focused on her game instead.
“I don’t care. Usually, honestly, I don’t see that because I’m kind of focused on doing my job. But if I see that, like it is a little bit satisfying, you know, I got to say. But most of times I don’t care because I want to continue doing my job,” she said.
Up next, Iga Świątek will lock horns with No. 15 seed Diana Shnaider in the quarterfinals of the Canadian Open, following Shnaider’s 6-3, 6-3 win over Jessica Pegula. Świątek holds a 1-0 lead in her head-to-head record against the Russian, having claimed a 6-0, 6-7(3), 6-4 victory in their sole previous encounter at the 2025 Madrid Open.
