Iga Swiatek hit back at her doubters after lifting her first title of the season at the Canadian Open. The former world No. 1 has had a difficult year, dropping to No. 8 and suffering early exits at big tournaments. She had not reached a final in 2026 until now, but she stormed past second seed Elena Rybakina to win 6-2 6-3 and claim the trophy in Toronto.
Victory speech message
Afterwards, the newly-crowned champion sent a pointed message to those who had sent her “unfair judgment and hate” during her victory speech. Speaking immediately after the match, the current world No. 5 said: “I’m really happy about this tournament. It means so, so much to me because all these past months were not easy. I’m really happy that I kept focusing on growing, changing my game a little bit, improving, despite all the opinions many people have about me every day on the internet, live.
“It’s not easy to deal with all of that, so I’m happy the reality is different. The reality is that I have people that know me so well and people that support me every week, every day. I want to dedicate this title to everyone who’s dealing with unfair judgment and hate. Just keep pushing, keep growing, keep focusing on yourself, because you know what’s the best for you. And always remember what’s ahead and what might be possible. So yeah, here we are.”
Swiatek admits feeling 'angry'
Swiatek was later asked about her biting speech and admitted she had been left feeling “angry”. The six-time Major winner explained: “Well, all the things that I mentioned in the speech. Like, just the unfair judgment, and sometimes the, like, people just judging and hating. But it's good to focus on how to create space for you to just focus on yourself. It's not so easy to do that. But the best thing about this two weeks for me was that I could kind of let it go. Yeah, this anger came, like, after I won. But during the whole process I was really focused on just growing and progressing.
“The same happened after Wimbledon when I started practising on hard courts. So for sure, I feel like I worked hard through kind of all this noise, and unnecessary noise, that's what makes me angry. Because it shouldn't be like that, and it doesn't need to be like that.”
Asked if she was referring to social media criticism, Swiatek simply replied: “Well, if you would be Polish, you would know.” But the 25-year-old hit out again as she celebrated her Canadian Open triumph with an Instagram photo dump.
Instagram message and podcast apology
“For me, winning here @nbotoronto is more than just another result on the draw. Today, I want to dedicate this title to everyone out there dealing with unfair judgment, negativity, and hate - whether in sports or in any other area of life,” she wrote. “I know how heavy that can feel. Honestly, it’s not worth giving power to those opinions, and it’s crucial to learn that they don’t define who we are. To all who are following their own path – do not stop. Only you know how much effort and sacrifice it takes. And well, look where I am tonight… I will focus on my own growth. My way. I hope we can all treat one another with more respect and kindness. And to all of my supporters who stand by my side every step of the way - thank you so much.”
Swiatek’s cutting messages come days after Trzeci Serwis, the publishers of the ‘Return’ podcast, were forced to issue an apology for comments made about the world No. 5 on a recent episode. Dr. Ewa Woydyllo suggested that Swiatek should “go to college” if she was struggling with motivation, and said: “She's most likely stupid, scared, and doesn't understand what's going on.”
The publishers later apologised and said they “assumed that the words spoken in the programme were the sole responsibility of their author”. The publishers added: “After your feedback and the media's reaction, we understood that we, in turn, are responsible for what content enters the tennis discourse and what level of discourse it maintains. In this respect, we lost 0-6, 0-6. We sincerely apologise to Iga Swiatek, her team, and all the fans.”
