Clara Tauson upsets Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek in straight sets at Canadian Open

Clara Tauson, world No. 19, continued the upsets at the Canadian Open in Montreal with a 7-6(1), 6-3 win over Wimbledon champion Iga Świątek in one hour and 53 minutes Sunday night. On Saturday, it was the world No. 2 and top seed Coco Gauff in straight sets to Canadian wild card Victoria Mboko. Sunday night, it was Świątek’s turn to lose, unable to make the quarterfinals in her first tournament since winning her sixth slam.

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“I think I’m getting more confidence in this kind of level and feeling like I belong here a bit more,” Tauson said. “I think that really helped me today in the important moments.”

Tauson launched to an early lead, converting on her first break point chance to go up 2-1. Świątek’s inability to convert on the break points she faced defined the first set. Tauson saved seven of eight break-point opportunities, relying on her efficient serving to get out of trouble. At 3-2, a game where she saved four break points before holding, Tauson went after Świątek’s forehand on one of the chances. The result was Świątek dumping the forehand in the net.

Attacking Świątek’s forehand continued in the first set tiebreak. Instead of Świątek being patient on the return, a strategy she adopted during her championship run at Wimbledon, she elected to be more aggressive on the first swing. Świątek struggled to control the ball, leading to forehands in the net or sailing long. For the match, Świątek won just 24 percent (12-of-49) of points on Tauson’s first serve.

The only point Świątek won in the tiebreak was a Tauson double fault. The world No. 3 returned the favor at 6-1, to give Tauson the tiebreak and the one-set advantage.

Clara Tauson picks up her first career win over Swiatek and moves into the quarterfinals!#OBN25 pic.twitter.com/MthAOUzRYj — wta (@WTA) August 4, 2025

Tauson played smart tennis in difficult, windy conditions for the duration of the match, keeping the ball in play and not beating herself. On Świątek’s serve, Tauson was aggressive off the return, putting pressure immediately with blazing cross-court winners.

With Tauson up 2-1, Świątek fired two forehands in the middle of the net on consecutive points, leading to Tauson getting the break. Despite getting broken at 4-2, Tauson remained calm, and Świątek double-faulted on break point in the next game to give Tauson back her two-game cushion, as well as the opportunity to serve for the match.

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Tauson said after the match that despite getting broken, she thought she was playing “the right way.”

“I felt like I had a bit better luck in my returning games, and obviously she started with a double fault in the next game, which gave me a little bit more confidence going into the rest of the points,” Tauson said. “I felt like I had a little bit of the upper hand in the end of the set. I think I showed that I can keep cool under pressure.”

At match point, Tauson won another short rally, thanks to a Świątek backhand in the net.

Tauson raised her arms, smiled to her team and let out a scream of celebration. She finally recorded her first career win against the world No. 3.

At Wimbledon, Świątek cruised to a straight-set win over Tauson en route to capturing the title but in Canada it was Tauson’s turn, advancing to her second WTA 1000 quarterfinal of 2025. In February at the Dubai Tennis Championships, Tauson trounced world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets 6-3, 6-2, once again relying on a clutch serve — winning 80 percent of first serve points — and power from the baseline.

Next up for Tauson is the current Australian Open champion Madison Keys, who saved two match points en route to a thrilling three-set victory over Karolína Muchová, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. The two met in the Auckland quarterfinal earlier this year, with Tauson winning in straight sets 6-4, 7-6.

Another quarterfinal showdown awaits in Canada.

(Photo: Minas Panagiotakis / Getty Images)

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