Iga Swiatek cruises to NBO Toronto final win for her first WTA Tour title this year

Iga Swiatek had every reason to be confident entering Thursday's title match at the National Bank Open.

Armed with a 25-5 career record in WTA Tour final appearances, the seventh seed from Poland plays best when the stakes are high.

She set the early tone against Elena Rybakina and didn't look back in a clinical 6-2, 6-3 victory on a brilliant summer evening at Sobeys Stadium in Toronto.

"I was really in the zone" Swiatek said. "I wanted to make the match physical."

Swiatek broke Rybakina's serve to open the first set when the Kazakh made back-to-back double-faults.

The six-time Grand Slam champion had Rybakina moving around the baseline while trying to keep the six-footer's powerful forehand at bay.

Swiatek used her net skills when needed and her defensive game was on point. Rybakina was on her heels for most of the match and never really found a rhythm.

WATCH | Swiatek's strong defensive skills key to winning National Bank Open:

Swiatek earned another break at 2-2 in the second set before closing out the win in a tidy 75 minutes.

"She takes the opportunity during the rally and turns it around," Rybakina said.

It was Swiatek's first tournament crown since her victory in Seoul last September. She's the only player to win a WTA 1000 title in each of the last six seasons.

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Swiatek was projected to rise two spots to No. 6 in the latest world rankings. Rybakina, the second seed, will remain at No. 2.

"I'm speechless a little bit because the journey has been bumpy this season," Swiatek said. "To be here and to hold the trophy and to win against the best players means a lot."

Swiatek's 26th career WTA Tour title gave her a $1.09 million cut of the $7.43 million US overall purse. Rybakina pocketed about $565,000.

Earlier in the day, Czechia's Katerina Siniakova and China's Shuai Zhang defeated Italy's Sara Errani and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States 6-3, 6-4 in the doubles final.

The top seeds needed 80 minutes to complete the victory over their third-seeded opponents.

Canada's Victoria Mboko won the NBO women's title last year in Montreal. She was unable to defend her title due to a knee injury.

Shelton secures 7th ATP Tour win

Ben Shelton successfully defended his National Bank Open title, beating Brandon Nakashima 6-3, 7-6 (4) in an all-American final in Montreal.

The fifth-seeded Shelton has seven career ATP Tour victories, also winning this year in Dallas, Munich and Stuttgart. He won the Canadian event last year in Toronto.

"Tennis-wise, this has been one of the best weeks of my life," Shelton told the crowd. "I played some of the best tennis that I've ever played, and to be able to put that on display here in front of you has been an honour. So, thank you guys for bringing the energy all week."

Shelton earned his second career ATP Masters 1000 title after winning last year's event in Toronto. He moved up to sixth in the tour's rankings and became the first men's player to repeat at the Canadian Open since Rafael Nadal in 2019.

After digging deep with multiple third-set tiebreaks in Toronto, Shelton rocketed through the 2026 tournament without dropping a set.

"This week was a massive stepping-stone," he told reporters at his press conference. "I would say even more than what I did in Toronto last year because of the way that I did it. I thought I was much more clinical, more focused. I was an elite returner at times."

WATCH | Shelton collects second straight NBO men's title:

The 23-year-old was also untouchable on serve Thursday, striking the ball at 230 kilometres per hour without surrendering a break-point chance throughout a match that lasted one hour 27 minutes.

Nakashima, seeded 28th, won just 17 per cent of his return points in his first career final at the 1000 level.

"He's been playing at an insane level, it really has been incredible to see his career so far," the 25-year-old said of Shelton. "He's going to be a top player for his whole career."

Nakashima matched power for power in the second set, forcing a tiebreak after fighting back from 30-0 down with a mix of aces, sliced volleys and punishing forehands in the final game.

The two remained square until Shelton smacked a cross-court forehand to take a 4-2 advantage and held serve for a 6-3 lead. He made good on his second championship point in the second set, ripping a forehand down the line before flexing his muscles and sharing hugs with his team courtside.

In the doubles final, Brazil's Rafael Matos and Orlando Luz edged Croatia's Mate Pavic and El Salvador's Marcelo Arevalo 5-7, 6-4, 10-6.

Roof at Toronto tennis venue not on horizon

There are no immediate plans for Toronto to follow Montreal's lead on a proposed project that would see a retractable roof installed at IGA Stadium, tournament director Karl Hale said Thursday.

Last June, Tennis Canada announced plans to build a new centre-court stadium as part of a major modernization of its facilities at Jarry Park. The organization conducted a yearlong feasibility study to examine options for the long-term future of the National Bank Open in Montreal.

The venue's centre court last underwent major renovations in 1996.

"Toronto was built in 2004 and it's a newer stadium," Hale said at his end-of-tournament media availability. "So we'll focus on Montreal for now."

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Wet weather at both events -- the WTA Tour was in Toronto this summer and the ATP Tour stop was in Montreal – forced organizers to pivot throughout the 12-day competitions.

Rain forced a delay to the evening semifinal session in Toronto on Wednesday with the late match finishing around 1 a.m. local time. The 96-player format, now in its second season, leads toa Thursday final rather than a traditional Sunday championship.

The proposed Montreal modernization project would boost centre court capacity by about 3,000 to approximately 15,000 seats while adding up to four practice courts and a match court.

Next steps include determining the construction timeline, estimated costs and how the project will be funded, Tennis Canada has said. The organization added that discussions with all three levels of government about potential funding were underway.

Hale described the women's National Bank Open as "incredible" this year, noting an estimated total attendance of about 215,000 would be a WTA Toronto record for the city.