Iga Swiatek has spent this season pushing back against a narrative she never agreed to. Her Toronto title gave her the loudest platform yet to do it. Minutes after beating Elena Rybakina 6-2, 6-3 in the National Bank Open final, Swiatek described a new feeling. She called it genuine anger, and said she had never felt that way after a title before. The anger was not aimed at fans. It was aimed at the critics, especially the “experts” back home in Poland, who have picked apart her game all season.

“It feels great, especially, honestly, with all the people judging and hating. Not honestly international fans, but more at home. I mean, not the fans, even, but the ‘experts.’ Honestly, I’m happy that, year by year, I give less of a sh*t about it, and I could win this tournament to prove to everyone that they just don’t make sense sometimes,” Swiatek said 

She went further in describing just how unusual the feeling was for her.

“So I feel a little bit, even, angry right now. I think that’s the first time in my life I’ve felt something like that after a victory. But it hasn’t been easy, you know? I’m happy that I kept my composure, kept my focus. I keep growing every month, no matter what the challenges are, and I am super proud I could win this one.”

The anger has a clear source. Earlier this month, Ewa Woydyllo, an 86-year-old Polish psychologist, called Swiatek “stupid and scared,” sparking a backlash and ultimately leading to the segment being removed from the broadcast. At the Cincinnati pre-tournament press conference, the Pole was asked if she feels criticism tends to be louder within Poland than anywhere else. 

Swiatek easily brushed aside the question.

“That’s an interesting question, for a sociologist or someone,” she said.

The Woydyllo saga was not the only label Swiatek pushed back on this month. In Toronto, former British player Mark Petchey described her 6-2, 6-1 quarterfinal win over Diana Shnaider as “vintage.” The label did not sit well with Swiatek.

“Why vintage? Everybody keeps saying vintage, but what the hell. It’s been like, what, two or three years? Like, it must be nine years old that people keep calling it vintage, you know. There have been many people coming to me like, ‘vintage Iga,’ and I’m like, ‘I’m still 25,'” she said during her Tennis Channel interview.

That title has real stakes beyond the trophy. It pushed Swiatek back into range of the WTA Finals field, and Cincinnati is her next chance to close the gap.

Swiatek arrives in Cincinnati targeting the top 8

Swiatek collected 1,000 ranking points in Toronto. The result moved her up to 10th in the Race to the WTA Finals. That is the closest she has been to the top eight in months. She opens her Cincinnati campaign with a bye before facing Emiliana Arango in the second round. Arango beat seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams in the first round in straight sets. Swiatek debuted at the WTA Finals in 2021. She has reached the season-ending event every year since, winning it undefeated in 2023.

Swiatek’s test begins in the second round. She faces Arango at the Lindner Family Tennis Center, with second-round matches scheduled across August 15 and 16.