"It’s been a long day" - Elena Rybakina fatigued but overjoyed after 1am finish in Canadian Open semi-final

Elena Rybakina has made it to the Canadian Open final, but has not made it easy. It was an extremely late finish in her 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 win against Coco Gauff as she booked her spot a title clash against Iga Swiatek.

After 10 holds of serve, in which Gauff missed a set point, the American finally made some inroads on her opponents serve and clinched the first set. Rybakina, who had been used to having her back pinned against the wall in this tournament, once again needed to rally.

That is exactly what she did. After going 2-1 down on serve, she won the next five games to force a decider. This ended in the exact same scoreline in the same outcome as Rybakina ticked off five consecutive games to blast herself into a first ever Canadian Open final.

In her on-court interview, the Kazakh was unsure how she managed to stay focus as it his 1am local time. “I don’t know," she said. "I feel like I stayed so many hours on the court that maybe some shots are just coming out from my racquet. And also at important moments I got a bit lucky with the line on the return. I was just trying to fight. Guys thank you so much for saying so late. It’s been a long day.”

Overall, she was extremely proud of herself and the team for getting through what was a very tricky contest against a very good player to set up a highly anticipated final showdown in Toronto against Swiatek.

“Very proud. Also with the team, I think we did a great preparation. So now the most important is to just keep on going. No matter the result tomorrow just try to enjoy. Keep on playing, keep on trying. Hopefully go deep on all the tournaments.”

In her last two appearances in the Canadian Open, Rybakina had lost in the semi-finals. She was desperate not to make it three on the spin, although it looked like it could have been when Gauff snatched the first set.

However, the class and skill of Rybakina was showcased and she prevailed in fine fashion. “It was another very tough battle, I'm happy that it turned out in my favour again and I hope to recover and play well tomorrow too,” she stated, looking back on the match.

“She served really well in the first set, it was very close, although I feel I rushed a bit with my serve at the end. I knew I had to start the second set well from the very beginning, so I’m happy to have made a couple of good returns and change things up. She also started to feel a bit of pressure, made some double faults, while I just kept going and I'm happy I won.”

Rybakina had played a lot more minutes than Gauff in this tournament. For a start, the 22-year-old had competed in one less match thanks to Belinda Bencic withdrawing from the quarter-final, leaving her fit and fresh for the last-four tie. Rybakina had just one match that did not go the distance in a competition of battling and fighting.

“I guess the adrenaline and so many hours on the court helped a bit," she admitted. "I had my opportunities and I took them, I tried not to think about the score, but to take it point by point. Also with my serve, I simply chose my targets. Even if she knew where I was going to serve, I just went for it and today it worked.”

It is all about recovery with Swiatek her final opponent. If she wins, then Aryna Sabalenka will be just four points ahead as the battle for the World No.1 spot heats up. The two-time Grand Slam champion will not be thinking of that, just winning the match and securing a third title of 2026 and a third WTA 1000 triumph.

“Yes, I’m tired. I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, but I will definitely give my best and we’ll see. The most important thing is to get some sleep. She has been playing well and it will be another very tough match. We know each other very well. For me, I feel it’s more about recovering after so many hours on the court and bringing as much energy as I can.”