For Iga Swiatek, her Toronto triumph meant much more than simply ending her title drought. It was her answer to the critics who had questioned her form, and she celebrated the moment with a rather special spectator: Elway, the resident golden retriever of Toronto’s Sobeys Stadium. But the heartwarming moment soon took an unexpected turn when a photo from the celebration began circulating online.

The viral image showed Swiatek posing with the trophy alongside Elway. It looked like the perfect post-match moment, but there was a catch. A prominent tennis photographer has now revealed that the image wasn’t quite what it seemed.

Jimmy48, who is an official in-house photographer for the WTA Tour, has exposed that the image was generated through AI. He clarified that such a thing never happened and appeared out of the blue.

“The below “photo” is spreading on social media (blurred by me) and it is 100% AI nonsense.. this never happened,” he wrote on X. He also pointed out exactly why he believes the image was AI-generated, highlighting the details that gave it away.

“These days if a photo is very remarkable and appearing out of the blue shared only by non-official sources, chances unfortunately are that it’s AI.”

After beating Rybakina in the final, Swiatek was spotted enjoying a playful moment with Elway. At one point, the golden retriever even rolled over, seemingly asking the champion for a belly rub. It won’t be wrong to say that Elway stole the show with its on-court actions.

Elway has actually been stealing hearts at the Toronto tournament for years. Back in 2023, the golden retriever casually poked his head through the court drapes after Jannik Sinner won the Toronto Masters 1000 title. In return, Sinner had a heartwarming reaction.

He dropped to his knees and immediately went in for a cuddle, creating one of the tournament’s most memorable viral moments. Elway, who belongs to a Tennis Canada staff member, has become a beloved behind-the-scenes fixture at the event, and clearly knows exactly how to upstage the champions.

This time too, Elway brought plenty of smiles to the court with his adorable antics, sharing the spotlight with Swiatek as she celebrated a much-needed title after a difficult season.

The Pole has begun her hard-court season on a high. She had arrived at the Canadian Open on the back of a third-round exit at Wimbledon. Having won just two matches in the grass swing, there weren’t many expectations around Swiatek in Toronto. She wasn’t in great form and had never won the title either.

But Swiatek didn’t let the painful history repeat itself and delivered superb performances throughout the tournament. She dropped just two sets on her way to the final and capped off her campaign with one of her best performances of the season so far.

The 25-year-old dominated Rybakina in the final with a 6-2, 6-3 victory. She didn’t lose her serve throughout the match and gained four breaks over her opponent. Rybakina wasn’t able to provide a tough challenge to the former World No. 1, finishing the match with four double faults and 23 unforced errors.

Swiatek wrapped up the match in an hour and 15 minutes to win her first title under the guidance of Francisco Roig, who had joined her team in early April as a replacement for Wim Fissette. This title triumph was monumental for Swiatek as it saw her make a massive jump in the rankings.

Iga Swiatek re-enters the top 5 after Canadian Open triumph

Swiatek had dropped to No. 8 after her defeat to Alexandra Eala at Wimbledon. This was only the second time since April of 2022 that the Pole had dropped out of the top 5. But it seems that Swiatek has mastered the art of bouncing back.

The triumph in Toronto will see Swiatek rise three places and reach the No. 5 spot. She has a tally of 5,419 points and is exactly 500 points behind Coco Gauff, who stands at No. 4 with 5,919 points.

This isn’t the first time that Swiatek has returned strong after dropping out of the top 5. She had fallen to No. 8 last year as well after exiting the semifinals of the French Open. But the Pole had climbed back to No. 4 by reaching the final of the Bad Homburg Open. She then returned to the top 3 after lifting her maiden Wimbledon title.

After lifting the title in Toronto, Swiatek will now be shifting her focus to the Cincinnati Masters. She is scheduled to take on Emiliana Arango in the first round.

Having lifted the title last year, Swiatek will lose a massive number of points if she doesn’t reach the later stages of the Masters event. It remains to be seen if the Pole will be able to continue her winning streak in Cincinnati.