Elina Svitolina was not playing her best to start her match against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the second round of the 2026 Canadian Open. She wasn't being blown out by her Spanish opponent, but that likely made the match even more frustrating for the Ukrainian.
She was the better player, after all, but she wasn't playing as if she was. She was hitting far too many unforced errors and missing shots she might otherwise make easily. But one truth has always remained for Svitolina: She doesn't quit even when many other players might.
After dropping the opening set in a tie-break 7-5, the second set also ended in a tie-break. This was after Svitolina needed help staying in the match, which Bouzas Maneiro was unhappily doing. The Spaniard finished with double-digit double faults, making a winnable match so much more challenging.
Elina Svitolina struggled past Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the second round of the Canadian Open
Svitolina took the second-set tie-break 7-4, and Bouzas Maneiro seemed done. She was deflated mentally, and that carried into a rather brutal start to the third set. The Spaniard kept running into issues with her serve, and her otherwise brilliant backhand had melted. She struggled to challenge for any games, and in what only seemed like a few minutes, she was down 0-5 trying to hold serve.
She probably wasn't going to win the match at that point, but anyone watching likely felt bad for a player struggling to gain her footing on the WTA Tour and had a lead against the top-10-ranked Ukrainian. Even winning a game in set three would at least help her emotionally.
She was able to hold serve to get the win, and then, stunningly, got a fairly easy break of Svitolina to get to 2-5, and was serving to get to 3-5. She was still unlikely to come from down 0-5 to win the match, but at least the score was becoming a bit better.
Then, astonishingly, Bouzas Maneiro got another break of Svitolina and only trailed 4-5 and was on serve. Fans who might have stepped away from their seats probably were completely confused when returning. No one would have believed what happened even if it was explained to them.
Unfortunately, the Spaniard's run would end there. She committed her 15th double fault on her way to getting broken, and Svitolina won the final set 6-4.
Elina Svitolina will next play the winner of the match between Elena-Gabriela Ruse and Anastasia Potapova in the third round. Svitolina should be favored, but she has to play better than she did against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro to move forward at the Canadian Open.
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