Ten in a row: Svitolina powers into Toronto semifinals

Elina Svitolina extended her unbeaten streak in WTA 1000 matches to 10 with a three-set win over Ekaterina Alexandrova to reach the semifinals of the National Bank Open in Toronto on Monday night. The victory sets up an intriguing clash against No. 7 seed Iga Swiatek, who defeated Diana Shnaider in straight sets earlier Monday.

Using the same aggressive baseline game that helped her knock out world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the previous round, Alexandrova took the opening set 6-3 before Svitolina found her rhythm. The No. 9 seed and 2017 champion won 11 of the next 12 games to claim the second set 6-0 and build a 5-1 lead in the decider. Although Alexandrova briefly fought back to 5-3, Svitolina broke in the ninth game to close out a 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 victory in 1 hour, 33 minutes.

"I think she was playing really well, serving really unreturnable to be fair," Svitolina told the media after the win. "So I had to really try to find opportunities to see the ball better and I think focusing on myself more. And she gave me a little bit more second serves that really, I think, changed the momentum. And I found my game was playing really well from the baseline after."

Svitolina's win adds to impressive stats in 2026

With six wins in Rome and four more in Toronto, Svitolina is on a 10-match winning streak in WTA 1000 events and improved to 4-1 against Alexandrova on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz.

She is through to her fourth WTA 1000 semifinal of the season - the most by any player in 2026 - and the 16th of her career.

Svitolina also improved to 14-2 in three-set matches this year, tying Jessica Pegula for the second-most three-set wins on tour in 2026. Both trail Coco Gauff, who has won 15 three-set matches this season.

The victory also marked her 25th WTA-level hard-court win of 2026, tying Sabalenka for the most hard-court wins on tour this year.

Semi-final foe Swiatek leads H2H 4-3

Awaiting her in the semifinals is a familiar opponent in Swiatek. The Pole holds a 4-3 edge in their head-to-head series, but Svitolina has won both of their meetings in 2026 - at Indian Wells and Rome - with both matches going three sets.

"We played many times, practiced many times as well, so we know each other's game," Svitolina said. "And we had a great match, I think from my side it was a great match, in Rome. For me it will be important to stay physical. It's going to be lots of long rallies. And I will just work on a few things, some tactical things tomorrow. It's nice to have a day where I can work on a few things for the semi-final."

Interestingly, all seven of Svitolina and Swiatek's previous meetings have come at either WTA 1000 events or Grand Slams.

"I think the things that I can control is my mindset and taking one point at a time," she added. "She's also a great fighter. It's going to be about trying to find the keys in that game, trying to find the particular patterns that are going to work against her. We are at the highest level of women's tennis, so everybody knows how to hit forehand and backhand. So it's about putting another pattern against each other and trying to perform as best as possible on that day."