Iga Swiatek of Warsaw, Poland and Ben Shelton of Atlanta, Georgia have won the 2026 National Bank Open (also known as the Canadian Open).
Swiatek won her first WTA title of 2026 as she beat Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan rather convincingly, 6-2, 6-3 in Toronto. Then, we saw an impressive victory by Shelton, as he defeated Brandon Nakashima of the United States, 6-3, 7-6 in Montreal.
Swiatek has now won 11 WTA 1000 Masters series events. However, this was her first Canadian Open title. Swiatek broke Rybakina four times in five opportunities. A key statistic was first serve winning percentage. Swiatek was at 80% and Rybakina was at 57%.
In Toronto over the last two weeks, Swiatek, the seventh seed, defeated four seeded players. She beat the 10th ranked Marta Kastyuk of Ukraine, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 in the fourth round, 15th seed Diana Shnaider of Russia, 6-2, 6-1 in the quarterfinals, the ninth seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 in the semifinals, and Rybakina, the second seed, in the finals. Rybakina was the only seeded opponent Swiatek faced who was seeded higher than Swiatek.
Shelton successfully defended his Canadian Open title from a year ago in Toronto. Last year he defeated Karen Khachanov of Russia, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6 in the final. The 2026 Canadian Open final was the first all-American men’s singles final at the Canadian Open since 1995 when Andre Agassi beat Pete Sampras 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 in Montreal.
A major reason why Shelton came through with the win was the winning percentage on the second serve statistic. Shelton was at 76% and Nakashima was at 52%. Nakashima also did not have a single break point opportunity.
Shelton, the fifth seed, beat five seeded opponents in Montreal. He defeated the 31st seed Zizou Bergs of Belgium, 6-3, 6-2 in round three, the 22nd seed Joao Fonseca of Brazil, 6-3, 7-6 in round four, 13th seed Jakub Mensik of Czech Republic, 6-3, 6-1 in the quarterfinals, and 12th seed Learner Tien of the United States, 6-2, 6-3 in the semifinals. Nakashima was the 28th seed.
