At the heart of a tightly packed round robin, the womens curling worlds produced an unexpected pivot when Switzerland edged Canada 6-5 in an extra end. Swiss skip Xenia Schwaller’s final draw to the button not only delivered the victory but put Switzerland atop the standings after eleven sessions. With several established contenders taking mixed results in morning and evening sessions, the championship picture tightened rapidly and left little margin for error heading into the closing days of pool play.
Womens Curling Worlds: Swiss shock Canada to take top spot
Switzerland’s 6-5 extra-end victory over Canada on Tuesday evening ET was settled when Xenia Schwaller drew her final stone onto the button for the winning point. The outcome moved Switzerland to the top of the round-robin rankings with six wins and one loss, replacing Canada in that position. Canada had forced the extra end after scoring two in the tenth, but Switzerland’s final draw proved decisive.
Earlier the same day ET, Switzerland had beaten Denmark 11-9, demonstrating resilience in multiple sessions. Canada compiled earlier wins as well, with a 9-6 victory over Italy and a 9-3 win in another earlier match, leaving them close behind the Swiss on the leaderboard. Those mixed results underscore how quickly the standings at the BKT World Women’s Curling Championship 2026 can shift.
Tactical turning points and leaderboard shifts
The womens curling worlds on Tuesday ET produced multiple tactical turning points beyond the headline Swiss-Canada game. Korea delivered two commanding results: a 12-7 victory over Turkiye—where skip Gim Eunji’s hit in the eighth scored three to extend a 9-7 lead—and a 12-3 evening win over Australia after a three-point fourth end widened an early gap. Sweden also recorded a double session success, beating Scotland 8-6 after an extra end in the morning ET session, then defeating the United States 7-4 in the evening ET session when Isabella Wranaa executed a key ninth-end double take-out to add two.
Japan’s day was mixed: a 7-2 win over Australia in the morning ET followed by a tight 3-4 loss to Scotland in the evening ET. Japan now shares fifth place with Turkiye on four wins and two losses. Turkiye’s campaign stalled further with successive defeats. Those results illustrate how single ends and late-game execution continue to define positioning as pool play approaches its conclusion.
Voices from the ice and what comes next
Players directly involved reflected on narrow margins and the physical demands of a packed schedule. Xenia Schwaller, skip of Switzerland, said, “I felt quite comfortable about the draw, ” and added, “I’m very proud, we’re doing an amazing job. It’s quite tough out there, with back-to-back games. We knew if we beat Canada, we’d be in a great spot, so we’re looking forward to the rest of the week. ” Isabella Wranaa, skip of Sweden, commented on her team’s resilience after their extra-end win over Scotland: “I feel like we played very well today. The Scots made some good shots against us, so it was a fight to the very end and I’m happy we came out with the win. ” Fay Henderson, skip of Scotland, described a low-scoring match where sharpness mattered: “It was a very low-scoring game which means that one small mistake is enough to cost you the game, so we just made sure we were sharp and on top of things. ”
On Canada’s side, Kerri Einarson, skip of Canada, led her team through a 7-5 win over Scotland in another session; that match featured a stolen point in the ninth that proved decisive. Inside Canada’s lineup, Shannon Birchard’s return to form drew praise from Einarson, who said Birchard “adds so much to our team, like her sweeping and her shot” and called her “such an asset and such great teammate. ” Those endorsements underline how recovery and individual form feed into team prospects at this stage of the championship.
The womens curling worlds are now defined by narrow scorelines and stacked sessions—teams play multiple times a day ET, and endurance is as critical as shotmaking. As teams jockey for the top six positions that advance from pool play, every extra-end win and late steal reshapes the playoff picture.
With the round robin entering its decisive phase, can Switzerland sustain the momentum from their extra-end triumph and will Canada respond to reclaim top position in the mens curling—or rather the womens curling worlds—race as playoff positioning tightens?
