Canada steals its way to a bounce-back win at 2026 BKT World Women’s Championship

Canada’s Team Kerri Einarson bounced back into the win column Wednesday morning at the 2026 BKT World Women’s Curling Championship, presented by Pharmasave.

The 9-3 win over Turkey’s Team Dilsat Yildiz (4-3) was exactly the response the Canadians from Gimli, Man., needed after dropping their first game of the week the night before. At 6-1, Canada is now tied for first in the standings with Switzerland’s Team Xenia Schwaller.

With both teams adjusting to freshly textured stones and extra curl, it was Canada — skip Einarson, third/vice-skip Val Sweeting, second Shannon Birchard, lead Karlee Burgess, alternate Krysten Karwacki, coach Reid Carruthers and national coach Viktor Kjell — who seized the moment. Canada’s experience prevailed as Turkey struggled to convert key shots, with Canada stealing seven of its nine points.

“I think speed is just a little bit different, it curls a little bit more, so you have to take a little more ice, throw it a little more aggressively and sweep them early,” Sweeting said. “We got caught on a couple, but overall I thought that it was a good bounce-back game, and we just kind of stuck with it and tried to figure it out.”

In the first, Turkish skip Yildiz attempted to hit through a port but grazed a guard, resulting in a steal of three.

Turkey battled back, tying the game with a deuce in the second and stealing a point in the third after Einarson narrowly missed a runback.

“We’re an aggressive team, too, and we were OK with that,” Einarson said. “But we also wanted to make sure we scored. My run was so close — it just papered it. This game is a game of inches, and unfortunately, we were just on the wrong side of it that end.”

Canada responded with two in the fourth, then stole another two in the fifth to build a four-point lead. Einarson drew to sit two around cover, and Yildiz came up light, catching a centre guard.

Canada stole another two points in the sixth end after Turkey was heavy on a draw against three, ending the six-end game with handshakes.

Despite the loss, Turkey is off to one of its best starts at worlds, opening with four straight wins before faltering with three consecutive losses. Still, the Canadians were not taking the game lightly.

“We did expect rocks to be in play. We know that they’re a good team and can make those freezes and get those angles,” Sweeting said. “So we knew we’d have to be a little bit careful and then we kind of got caught in one end. Then we just said, ‘OK, let’s keep it open and make it a little bit more simple,’ and I thought we did a good job of that.”

Wednesday is the second of three straight split days for Canada, with games morning and evening. The quick finish gives the team some extra rest before facing Scotland’s Team Fay Henderson (3-4) at 7 p.m. (all times Mountain).

In other Wednesday morning action, Denmark’s Team Madeleine Dupont (3-4) earned a 9-3 win over Norway’s Team Torlid Bjoernstad (1-6); Sweden’s Team Isabella Wranaa (6-2) posted a 9-4 victory against China’s Team Rui Wang (3-4); and Japan’s Team Satsuki Fujisawa (5-2) earned an 8-6 win over Italy’s Team Stefania Constantini (2-5).

Five teams had a bye on Wednesday morning: Switzerland’s Team Xenia Schwaller (6-1), South Korea’s Team Eunji Gim (5-2), Scotland’s Team Henderson, Australia’s Team Helen Williams (1-6), and Team Delaney Strouse of the U.S.A. (1-6).

The 2026 BKT World Women’s Curling Championship continue Wednesday with draws at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. (all times Mountain).

Live scoring, standings and statistics for the 2026 BKT World Women’s Curling Championship are available by CLICKING HERE.

TSN and RDS2 will provide coverage of all Team Canada games, and all playoff games, at the 2026 BKT World Women’s Curling Championship. CLICK HERE for the broadcast schedule.

For ticket information for the 2026 BKT World Women’s Curling Championship, go to www.curling.ca/2026worldwomen/tickets/.

This story will be available in French as soon as possible at www.curling.ca/fr/2026worldwomen/nouvelles/