_28_(cropped).jpg) Svitolina at the2023 Washington Open | ||||||||||||
| Native name | Еліна Михайлівна Світоліна | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country (sports) |  Ukraine | |||||||||||
| Residence | London, England Odesa, Ukraine | |||||||||||
| Born | (1994-09-12)12 September 1994 (age 30)[1] Odesa, Ukraine | |||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)[1] | |||||||||||
| Turned pro | 2010 | |||||||||||
| Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) | |||||||||||
| Prize money | US$ 24,974,612[2] | |||||||||||
| Official website | Elina Svitolina Foundation in Ukraine | |||||||||||
| Singles | ||||||||||||
| Career record | 466–247 | |||||||||||
| Career titles | 17 | |||||||||||
| Highest ranking | No. 3 (11 September 2017) | |||||||||||
| Current ranking | No. 23 (11 November 2024) | |||||||||||
| Grand Slam singles results | ||||||||||||
| Australian Open | QF (2018,2019,2025) | |||||||||||
| French Open | QF (2015,2017,2020,2023) | |||||||||||
| Wimbledon | SF (2019,2023) | |||||||||||
| US Open | SF (2019) | |||||||||||
| Other tournaments | ||||||||||||
| Tour Finals | W (2018) | |||||||||||
| Olympic Games | Bronze (2021) | |||||||||||
| Doubles | ||||||||||||
| Career record | 48–68 | |||||||||||
| Career titles | 2 | |||||||||||
| Highest ranking | No. 108 (4 May 2015) | |||||||||||
| Grand Slam doubles results | ||||||||||||
| Australian Open | 1R (2014,2016) | |||||||||||
| French Open | 2R (2014) | |||||||||||
| Wimbledon | 2R (2016) | |||||||||||
| US Open | 2R (2014) | |||||||||||
| Other doubles tournaments | ||||||||||||
| Olympic Games | 1R (2016,2021) | |||||||||||
| Grand Slam mixed doubles results | ||||||||||||
| Australian Open | SF (2017) | |||||||||||
| French Open | 2R (2015,2017) | |||||||||||
| Wimbledon | 3R (2014) | |||||||||||
| US Open | 2R (2018) | |||||||||||
| Team competitions | ||||||||||||
| Fed Cup | 15–11 | |||||||||||
| Hopman Cup | F (2016) | |||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||
| Last updated on: 25 November 2024. | ||||||||||||
Elina Mykhailivna Svitolina (Ukrainian:Еліна Михайлівна Світоліна,pronounced[ɛˈlʲinɑ̝s⁽ʲ⁾vʲiˈtɔlʲinɑ̝];[3] born 12 September 1994) is a Ukrainian professionaltennis player. She reached career-high rankings of world No. 3 in singles and No. 108 in doubles by theWTA. Svitolina has won 17WTA Tour singles titles, including the2018 WTA Finals, and has reached threemajor singles semifinals.
Svitolina first broke into the world's top 50 in July 2013, reached the top 20 in June 2015, and then the top 10 in May 2017, making her thefirst Ukrainian woman to reach the top 10 in rankings after surpassing compatriotAlona Bondarenko. After winning her first WTA Tour title in 2013, she won five additional titles until 2017, during which she won five titles that same year to propel her into the top 10. Among her titles are the 2018 WTA Finals and threePremier 5-level tournaments: theDubai Tennis Championships, theItalian Open, and theCanadian Open. She has also won two titles in doubles, both at theİstanbul Cup, in 2014 and 2015. Svitolina produced her best performances at the majors in 2019, reaching two semifinals atWimbledon and theUS Open. In 2021, Svitolina won the Olympic bronze medal in thewomen's singles tournament at the2020 Tokyo Olympics and became the first Olympian to win a medal in tennis for Ukraine.
In 2022, Svitolina took a break from professional tennis to give birth to her first child. She made a strong comeback upon her return to competition in 2023, winning a WTA Tour title and reaching theFrench Open quarterfinals and theWimbledon semifinals (beating world No. 1Iga Świątek in the latter) in her first few tournaments back.
Svitolina was born inOdesa toUkrainian parents, Mikhaylo Svitolin (a formerwrestler) and Olena Svitolina (a former competitiverower).[4] She has aJewish grandmother.[5] She was named after the famous Soviet actressElina Bystritskaya. She has an older brother, Yulian.[6][4][7] As a child, she noticed that her brother was getting a lot of attention for playing tennis. This inspired her to take up the sport to regain some of her father's attention.[4] She started playing at age five.[6][8] Svitolina and her family moved toKharkiv, Ukraine, when she was 13, after businessman Yuriy Sapronov became her sponsor.[4] Sapronov had seen her play at one of his children's tournaments when she was 12 and was impressed, leading to his investment in her training and further professional development.[4]
Svitolina officially still resides in Kharkiv but trains abroad, which limits her presence in Odesa and/or Kharkiv,[4] and also has a residence in London.[9] She has said that in her early career she turned down offers to change her citizenship in exchange for "large financial sums".[4] Svitolina has been actively learning theUkrainian andFrench languages since theCOVID-19 quarantine at the2021 Australian Open.[10] In January 2022, she promised, in an interview withDmitry Gordon, to master the Ukrainian language.[clarification needed][11][12]
Svitolina's greatest achievement as a junior was winning theFrench Open girls event in 2010, beating TunisianOns Jabeur in the final.[13] She reached her first professional singles final at the$25k tournament inKharkiv in May 2010.[14] Svitolina also reached the final of the girls' singles event at the2012 Wimbledon Championships, where she lost toEugenie Bouchard. Svitolina qualified for theUS Open. She was defeated in the first round by 12th seed and eventual quarterfinalistAna Ivanovic. She won theWTA 125Royal Indian Open title inPune, defeatingAndreja Klepač,Rutuja Bhosale,Luksika Kumkhum, former top-10 playerAndrea Petkovic, and Japanese veteranKimiko Date-Krumm in the final.
Svitolina gained direct entry into theAustralian Open, where she was defeated by fifth seedAngelique Kerber in the first round. She won her first WTA title at theBaku Cup by beatingShahar Pe'er; in doing so, Svitolina became the first teenager to win a WTA tournament since February 2012.[15] The victory led to a jump of 32 spots in the WTA rankings, landing her at No. 49 on 29 July 2013.[16]
At theAustralian Open, Svitolina defeated two-time Grand Slam champion and three-time Australian Open quarterfinalistSvetlana Kuznetsova in the opening round in straight sets.[17] She went on to reach the third round, losing toSloane Stephens in straight sets.
After defending her Baku Cup title by beatingBojana Jovanovski in the final, Svitolina played at theWestern & Southern Open where she recorded the first top-ten victory of her career, defeating recently crownedWimbledon championPetra Kvitová in the second round.[18] She proceeded to reach her first quarterfinal at Premier-5 level, eventually losing to Ana Ivanovic in straight sets.[19]
Svitolina reached her first Premier-5 semifinal in the first edition of the WTA tournament inWuhan, defeatingCamila Giorgi,Sabine Lisicki,Garbiñe Muguruza via walkover, and Angelique Kerber before losing to Petra Kvitová in the semifinals.
_(19118955970).jpg)
 | This section of abiography of a living persondoes notinclude anyreferences or sources. Please help by addingreliable sources. Contentious material about living people that is unsourced or poorly sourcedmust be removed immediately. Find sources: "Elina Svitolina" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(April 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
She began the new season at theBrisbane International where she reached the semifinals before losing to eventual championMaria Sharapova. At theAustralian Open, Svitolina reached the third round, and won the first set againstworld No. 1 and eventual champion, Serena Williams, before losing in three sets.[20] She fell in the second round in bothDubai andDoha, losing in tight three-set matches to Petra Kvitová andVictoria Azarenka, respectively.
As the 23rd seed inIndian Wells, she defeatedAlison Van Uytvanck andLucie Šafářová, before losing in the fourth round toTimea Bacsinszky. The following week inMiami, she defeated Bojana Jovanovski before losing in the third round to the eighth seedEkaterina Makarova. As the top seed at a tournament for the first time inBogotá, Svitolina reached the semifinals, defeatingLouisa Chirico,Danka Kovinić andIrina Falconi, before losing to eventual championTeliana Pereira.
She continued her successful start to the clay-court season by winning her third career title and first on clay inMarrakech, recovering from 2–5 down in the opening set to defeatTímea Babos, in straight sets. The victory propelled her to a career high ranking of 21. She also reached the semifinals in doubles with compatriotOlga Savchuk. The following week inMadrid, after easily dispatchingDaniela Hantuchová, Svitolina lost to Ana Ivanovic for the sixth time in her career. A similar scenario occurred inRome, where she defeatedFlavia Pennetta in straight sets before losing toVenus Williams.
At theFrench Open, after comfortably seeing offYanina Wickmayer in her opening match, Svitolina had to recover from 0–3 in the second set and 1–4 in the final set to beatYulia Putintseva in a match that lasted over three hours. Another tight three-set victory ensued in the third round againstAnnika Beck, before Svitolina defeatedAlizé Cornet in a rain-interrupted fourth-round encounter to set up a maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal against seventh seed Ana Ivanovic, which she lost in straight sets. Svitolina rose to No. 17 after this tournament, surpassingAlona Bondarenko as the highest-ranked Ukrainian woman in the Open Era, including women from Ukraine who played under the Soviet Union.
Svitolina's grass-court season was significantly less successful, losing in three sets in the second round ofEastbourne toHeather Watson. As the 17th seed atWimbledon, she came from a set down to beatMisaki Doi, who had beaten her at the same stage the previous year, before again losing in the second round to AustralianCasey Dellacqua. Despite losing in the first round ofİstanbul toMagdaléna Rybáriková, Svitolina successfully defended her doubles title from the previous year, this time partneringDaria Gavrilova.
She began U.S. hardcourt season with a run to the semifinals inStanford, losing in straight sets to eventual champion Angelique Kerber. At theRogers Cup, Svitolina lost in the first round to Victoria Azarenka. She bettered her performance from the previous year inCincinnati, defeatingAlison Riske, Eugenie Bouchard andCaroline Garcia to reach the quarterfinals, before defeating Lucie Šafářová for the second time this year to progress to her second Premier-5 semifinal, where she lost to Serena Williams. Svitolina concluded her warm up for theUS Open inNew Haven, where she retired from her first-round match againstMadison Keys. She progressed to the third round of theUS Open, defeatingElizaveta Kulichkova andKaia Kanepi, before losing to 13th seed Ekaterina Makarova for the third time this year.
The Asian hardcourt swing began inTokyo for Svitolina, where she lost in the second round to eventual championAgnieszka Radwańska. Svitolina failed to repeat her success from the previous year inWuhan, losing in the third round toKarolína Plíšková. Similarly disappointing results ensued for Svitolina, losing in the second round ofBeijing toAnastasia Pavlyuchenkova, and the first round ofTianjin toElena Vesnina.
Despite this disappointing end to her season, Svitolina's consistency throughout the year earned her a spot as the eighth seed at the inauguralWTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai. She was drawn into Group B with second seedCarla Suárez Navarro and Andrea Petkovic. Svitolina topped the group by winning both her matches, advancing to the semifinals where she lost to Karolína Plíšková. Her last match of the season was againstPauline Parmentier in the first round of theWTA 125 tournament inLimoges, which she lost on a final-set tiebreak.
.jpg)
Svitolina began her season at theHopman Cup, representing Ukraine withAlexandr Dolgopolov. She was undefeated in her singles matches in the round-robin stage, defeatingVictoria Duval, Karolína Plíšková, andJarmila Wolfe. Svitolina and Dolgopolov were the winners of their group, and advanced to the final, where the Australian pairing ofNick Kyrgios and Daria Gavrilova defeated them 2–0, with Svitolina losing her singles match in straight sets. At theSydney International, Svitolina lost in the first round to Angelique Kerber. InMelbourne, she defeated Victoria Duval in straight sets, before losing to qualifierNaomi Osaka in the second round.
In her first tournament with Justine Henin acting as a coaching consultant, Svitolina advanced to the semifinals inDubai, defeating qualifierJana Čepelová, earning her first top-10 win of the year over second seed Garbiñe Muguruza,[21] and battling pastCoCo Vandeweghe in three sets, before losing to eventual championSara Errani. Svitolina subsequently lost in the first round inDoha toDenisa Allertová.
Her next tournament was theMalaysian Open where she defeatedMiyu Kato,Risa Ozaki,Kristína Kučová, andZhu Lin en route to the final where she beat a resurgent Eugenie Bouchard in a rain-interrupted marathon to win her fourth WTA Tour title. This victory saw her maintain her perfect record in WTA finals, as well as improving her ranking to a career high of 14.
At theIndian Wells Open, 17th-seed Svitolina defeated Annika Beck, before losing in straight sets to ninth-seedRoberta Vinci. Then, in Miami, after defeating Australian Open quarterfinalistZhang Shuai, Svitolina scored one of the biggest victories of her career, coming from a break down in the third set to defeat formerWTA No. 1,Caroline Wozniacki, in three sets in the third round. Svitolina subsequently lost in the fourth round to Ekaterina Makarova, who beat her at the same tournament the prior year.
Svitolina began her clay-court season with a disappointing first-round loss toAlexandra Panova inBogotá, followed by a second-round loss to Daria Gavrilova inMadrid, and a first-round loss to qualifierMonica Puig inRome. Entering theFrench Open in poor form, Svitolina beat Romanian qualifierSorana Cîrstea and wildcardTaylor Townsend before beating nemesis and former world No. 1, Ana Ivanovic, in straight sets.[22] She then lost in the fourth round to world No. 1, defending champion, and eventual finalist Serena Williams.
InBirmingham, she lost in the first round to Carla Suárez Navarro. At Wimbledon, she beatNaomi Broady in straight sets before being upset byYaroslava Shvedova.
At theRio Olympics, Svitolina scored her first win over defending champion and then-world No. 1, Serena Williams, in the third round to reach the quarterfinals, defeating the out-of-sorts American in straight sets. Svitolina failed to follow up her landmark victory in the next round, however, losing to eventual bronze medalist Petra Kvitová.[23]
American hardcourt season began with a run to the third round ofMontréal, losing to Angelique Kerber. After a disappointing early loss to Daria Gavrilova inCincinnati, she rebounded atNew Haven, reaching the final before losing to Agnieszka Radwańska. At theUS Open, Svitolina reached the third round for the second consecutive year with wins overMandy Minella andLauren Davis, but she lost to Petra Kvitová once again.
The Asian swing proved to be fruitful for Svitolina, reaching the semifinals of bothTokyo, where she was defeated by Naomi Osaka, andBeijing, her first semifinal at Premier-Mandatory level, losing to eventual champion Agnieszka Radwańska. As a result, her ranking was propelled back up to 15, one place shy of her career high, and guaranteed her a place inZhuhai for the second year running. Her good form continued at the last Premier event of the season inMoscow, where she reached the semifinals, her third in four tournaments, before bowing out to eventual champion Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Svitolina concluded her season as the fourth seed in Zhuhai. She topped her group by defeatingKiki Bertens and Elena Vesnina, and then came from a set down to defeat top seedJohanna Konta in the semifinals to advance to her third final of the year, where she lost to Kvitová. Svitolina finished the season ranked 14th, with an impressive 13–5 win–loss record following the US Open.
.jpg)
| This section of abiography of a living persondoes notinclude anyreferences or sources. Please help by addingreliable sources. Contentious material about living people that is unsourced or poorly sourcedmust be removed immediately. Find sources: "Elina Svitolina" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(April 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Svitolina began her 2017 season with a strong showing inBrisbane, defeating world No. 1, Angelique Kerber, in the quarterfinals, before losing to eventual champion Karolína Plíšková in the following round. The victory over Kerber signified her third win over a number-one-ranked player in five months. Svitolina was seeded 11th at theAustralian Open, her highest seeding to date. She equalled her best showing in Melbourne, reaching the third round with victories overGalina Voskoboeva andJulia Boserup, before losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Svitolina won her fifth career title at theTaiwan Open, fending off four match points in her quarterfinal encounter with Ons Jabeur, before defeating Peng Shuai in the final. Svitolina next competed in Ukraine'sFed Cup tie against Australia, where she won both of her singles rubbers to help Ukraine set up a play-off against Germany. Svitolina continued her strong start to the season inDubai, where she defeated Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets in the final to capture her first title at Premier 5-level. This win propelled her into the WTA top 10 for the first time in her career, making her the first Ukrainian ever to do so. Svitolina failed to carry her momentum into the American hard-court swing, losing in the fourth round ofIndian Wells to Garbiñe Muguruza, and the second round ofMiami toBethanie Mattek-Sands.
She began the clay-court season by capturing her third title of the year inİstanbul. Rebounding from a disappointing loss toZheng Saisai in the first round ofMadrid, Svitolina then proceeded to reach her second Premier-5-level final of the year, and fourth overall, inRome. After defeating two top-5 players en route in Karolína Plíšková and Garbiñe Muguruza, she faced off againstSimona Halep, whom she defeated in three sets to claim the title. The win propelled her to a career high of No. 6 in the singles rankings, as well as to the top spot in the Race to Singapore. She then started her campaign at theFrench Open as one of the favourites to win the tournament. Svitolina progressed through her first three matches with relative ease, defeating Yaroslava Shvedova,Tsvetana Pironkova andMagda Linette respectively. Svitolina then overcame qualifierPetra Martić in a tight three set encounter to advance to her second major quarterfinal. She faced Simona Halep in a rematch of theItalian Open final. Svitolina led by a set and 5–1 and held a match point against the 2014 finalist, but lost in three sets (the third set at love).
AtWimbledon, she surpassed her previous performances by reaching the fourth round, defeating Birmingham finalist and potential dark horseAshleigh Barty in the first round. She then eased pastFrancesca Schiavone andCarina Witthöft, before bowing out to 13th seed and French Open championJeļena Ostapenko in straight sets.
Her fifth title of the year, and third successive at Premier 5-level, came inToronto, where she defeated four top-10 players en route in Venus Williams, Garbiñe Muguruza, Simona Halep and Caroline Wozniacki. Svitolina's first loss of the season at Premier-5-level came the following week in the third round ofCincinnati, losing toJulia Görges.
She entered theUS Open knowing that a run to the semifinals would see her claim theworld-number-one ranking for the first time. She overcameKateřina Siniaková in a rain-interrupted three-set encounter, before easing pastEvgeniya Rodina andShelby Rogers to reach the round of 16 at the US Open for the first time. She was then defeated by eventual runner-upMadison Keys in three sets.
Despite missing a large part of the Asian swing, Svitolina still secured her place at the year-endWTA Finals in Singapore, making her the first Ukrainian ever to do so. As the third seed inBeijing, she progressed to her eighth quarterfinal of the year with relative ease, defeating wildcard Zhu Lin, recent Wuhan finalist Ashleigh Barty and Elena Vesnina. There, she was defeated by Caroline Garcia on a final-set tiebreak.
Svitolina was drawn into the Red Group at the WTA Finals, alongside Halep, Wozniacki and Caroline Garcia. Despite earning her fifth career win over a number-one-ranked player by defeating Halep, Svitolina lost her other two matches, including a two-set drubbing by eventual champion Wozniacki, which ultimately placed her third in the group. She finished the year ranked at No. 6.
_(42260263064).jpg)
Svitolina began her 2018 season by capturing theBrisbane International title, defeating qualifierAliaksandra Sasnovich in the final.[24] She then competed at theAustralian Open as the fourth seed, faced qualifierIvana Jorović and won in straight sets. Against Kateřina Siniaková, Svitolina prevailed in three sets. She then had two straight-sets wins over qualifier and compatriotMarta Kostyuk andDenisa Allertová to advance to her first Australian Open quarterfinal where she was upset byElise Mertens in straight sets.[25]
Svitolina's 11th career title came after a successful defence of her crown inDubai, where she brushed asideDaria Kasatkina in the final. After losing to Carla Suárez Navarro in the third round ofIndian Wells, she produced her best ever result inMiami, reaching the quarterfinals before falling to eventual runner-up Jeļena Ostapenko in straight sets.
Rebounding from a second-round loss inMadrid to Suárez Navarro, Svitolina claimed her second straightItalian Open crown, defeating top seed Simona Halep in two sets, in a rematch of the previous year's final.[26] At theFrench Open, Svitolina posted wins againstAjla Tomljanović andViktória Kužmová, before being upset in the third round byMihaela Buzărnescu.[27]
She began her grass-court season with a run to the quarterfinals ofBirmingham, losing again to Buzărnescu.[28] Svitolina was then upset in the first round ofWimbledon by recentMallorca championTatjana Maria.
She enjoyed moderate success during theUS Open Series, reaching the semifinals inMontreal, where she was the defending champion, and the quarterfinals ofCincinnati, losing there to eventual champion Kiki Bertens. She reached the round of 16 at theUS Open for the second straight year, losing toAnastasija Sevastova in three sets.
Svitolina's struggles with form continued into the Asian swing, with back-to-back opening round losses to eventual championAryna Sabalenka inWuhan, andAleksandra Krunić inBeijing, despite opening up a 6–0, 3–0 lead in the latter match. A quarterfinal defeat inHong Kong to in-formWang Qiang, coupled with Svitolina's decision not to play in the final week of the year at eitherMoscow orLuxembourg City, meant that qualification for the WTA Finals in Singapore would rest on the performances of Karolína Plíšková and Kiki Bertens in Moscow. Plíšková's defeat in the second round ensured that Svitolina would qualify for Singapore for the second successive year.
As the sixth seed, she was drawn into the White Group, alongside defending champion Caroline Wozniacki, and Czechs Plíšková and Petra Kvitová. She won all three of her round-robin matches, first snapping a seven-match losing streak against Kvitová, defeating her in straight sets. She then defeated both Plíšková and Wozniacki in three sets to secure her place in the semifinals alongside Plíšková. She defeated Kiki Bertens in three sets, and in the final, she came from a set down to beat Sloane Stephens, winning the biggest title of her career. Svitolina ended the year as the world No. 4.
Svitolina opened the season with an unsuccessful title defense inBrisbane; she lost her first match to the previous year's finalist, Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
Seeded sixth at theAustralian Open, she defeated qualifierViktorija Golubic, Viktória Kužmová, Zhang Shuai, and 17th seed Madison Keys to make her second consecutive quarterfinal at the Australian Open. She was, however, afflicted by a neck and shoulder injury and was defeated by fourth seed and eventual champion Naomi Osaka in straight sets. Svitolina then reached back-to-back semifinals inDoha, losing with the lead in the final set against Simona Halep, andDubai, where she was the two-time defending champion, losing in a third-set tiebreak to eventual champion Belinda Bencic.
Svitolina reached her third consecutive semifinal of the year atIndian Wells. In her first Premier Mandatory semifinal since 2016, she lost in three sets to 18-year-old wildcard and eventual championBianca Andreescu.[29] The next week at theMiami Open, she suffered a surprise defeat in her opening match againstWang Yafan.[30] Svitolina later revealed that she had been struggling with knee pain for several weeks and announced she would take a short break to recover.
Svitolina's clay-court season began with back-to-back opening round losses to Pauline Parmentier inMadrid and to Victoria Azarenka inRome, where she was the two-time defending champion and had held a match point leading in the final set. At theFrench Open, Svitolina was defeated in the third round by the 2016 champion, Garbiñe Muguruza.[31]
.jpg)
After losing in her opening round at bothBirmingham andEastbourne, Svitolina proceeded to reach her first Grand Slam semifinal atWimbledon with victories over Daria Gavrilova,Margarita Gasparyan,Maria Sakkari, Petra Martić and Karolína Muchová, becoming the first Ukrainian ever to do so.[32] There, she faced eventual champion Simona Halep and was defeated in two sets.
The North American hardcourt season began for Svitolina atSan Jose, where as the top seed, she fell to Maria Sakkari in the quarterfinals. She would then fall toSofia Kenin in both the quarterfinals ofToronto and the round of 16 atCincinnati. Entering theUS Open as the No. 5 seed, Svitolina defeatedWhitney Osuigwe, Venus Williams,Dayana Yastremska and Madison Keys to reach her first US Open quarterfinal. There, she defeated Johanna Konta in straight sets for a spot in her second successive Grand Slam semifinal. She was then defeated in straight sets by Serena Williams. She subsequently returned to her career-high ranking position of No. 3.
Svitolina reached three consecutive quarterfinals in the season-closing Asian swing, losing toKristina Mladenovic inZhengzhou, eventual runner-up Alison Riske inWuhan, and Kiki Bertens inBeijing. Despite failing to reach a final during the season, Svitolina's overall consistency managed to secure her spot as the eighth seed at the WTA Finals inShenzhen for the third successive year. She was drawn into the Purple Group alongside Karolína Plíšková, US Open champion Bianca Andreescu, who was later replaced by Sofia Kenin, and Wimbledon champion Simona Halep. Svitolina topped her group, winning all three matches without dropping a set. Her semifinal match against Belinda Bencic was cut short when Bencic retired with a leg injury down 4–1 in the final set, meaning that Svitolina would advance to the final for the second year in succession, as well as her first final since winning the title in 2018. She failed to defend her title, however, losing in straight sets to Ashleigh Barty. This meant Svitolina failed to win a title during the year for the first time since 2012.
_(cropped).jpg)
At her first tournament of the year inBrisbane, Svitolina lost in the first round toDanielle Collins in straight sets.[33] At theAustralian Open, Svitolina defeatedKatie Boulter andLauren Davis, before falling to eventual runner-up Garbiñe Muguruza.[34] Svitolina's slow start to the season continued, being upset in the quarterfinals ofHua Hin byNao Hibino,[35] and in the first round of bothDubai byJennifer Brady,[36] andDoha byAmanda Anisimova.[37] She rebounded at theMonterrey Open, where she easily reached the final without dropping a set. She then defeatedMarie Bouzková in the final in three sets, capturing her 14th singles title, and her first since her WTA Finals win over 16 months ago.[38]
Following the suspension of the WTA Tour due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, Svitolina declined to participate in theUS Open due to safety concerns.[39] Her first tournament back was theItalian Open and defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Svetlana Kuznetsova to reach the quarterfinals, where she lost toMarkéta Vondroušová, winning just three games.[40] She next participated atStrasbourg, where she defeated Magda Linette,Jil Teichmann, and Aryna Sabalenka to reach the final. There, she won her 15th WTA singles title, defeating Elena Rybakina in three tight sets.[41] At theFrench Open, where she was the third seed, Svitolina defeatedVarvara Gracheva,Renata Zarazúa, Ekaterina Alexandrova, andCaroline Garcia to reach the quarterfinals. At this stage, she was upset by qualifier and world No. 130,Nadia Podoroska.[42] Her final tournament of the season was at the inaugural event inOstrava, where, in receipt of a first-round bye, she was defeated by Maria Sakkari in straight sets in the second round.[43] She ended her season at Ostrava, and ended the year ranked No. 5.[44]
Svitolina began her year as the second seed at theAbu Dhabi Open and made it to the quarterfinals, where she lost to unseededVeronika Kudermetova after a third set tiebreak, during which she could not recover from a 3–0 gap at the start.[45] Following the loss, she embarked on her first tournament of the Australian hardcourt swing at the inauguralGippsland Trophy in Melbourne, where she entered as the third seed. After holding offAndrea Petkovic andJeļena Ostapenko, she was confronted by Elise Mertens and lost after her second consecutive third set tiebreak at the tournament.[46][47] Next, Svitolina began theAustralian Open as the fifth seed and made it to the fourth round, before she was shocked by unseededJessica Pegula in another three-set match, one that she recapped as "where nothing was going my way."[48] The loss gave Pegula her first victory over a top 10 player, but Svitolina her sixth defeat to a player ranked outside the top 30 at a major event since she had become ranked within the top 10 since May 2017.[49]
In March, Svitolina began the year's Middle Eastern hardcourt swing that ended with consecutive disappointments. She first entered theQatar Ladies Open as the top seed but was defeated by an injured Victoria Azarenka in her second match of the tournament.[50] The following week, she entered theDubai Championships as the first seed once more, but she was quickly forced out just after her first match following a loss to Svetlana Kuznetsova, in three sets.[51] Later that month, she turned her fortunes around at theMiami Open, after she reached the semifinals for the first time in her seventh appearance at the tournament.[52] She was defeated by eventual champion, Ash Barty, in straight sets.[53]
Svitolina kicked off the year's Europe clay swing at theStuttgart Open with a strong performance after making it to the semifinals following a grueling three-set win over defending champion, Petra Kvitová, in the quarterfinals.[54] The win set her up for her second semifinal match of the year against Ashleigh Barty, where she eventually came up short again in another three-set match. The defeat marked her third consecutive loss to Barty in their head-to-head record.[55] Svitolina experienced much less success at theMadrid Open, after being upset in the first round by Jil Teichmann,[56] but she shrugged the loss off quickly as she made it into the quarterfinals of theItalian Open the following week. There, she was defeated by eventual championIga Świątek, in straight sets.[57] The swing ended at theFrench Open, where fifth-seeded Svitolina lost in the third round to eventual champion,Barbora Krejčíková, in straight sets.[58] Despite the losses, Svitolina credited her investment in online psychology courses with helping her cope with the chaotic nature of being on tour during the clay-court swing amid the pandemic.[59]
For the grass swing, second-seeded Svitolina attended her first tournament at theGerman Open in Berlin and had a rough start after she was ousted in her first match there; her loss to Ekaterina Alexandrova, in straight sets, marked her first loss to the Russian in their four-match head-to-head record.[60] Her woes followed her to theEastbourne International the following week, where she was defeated in the second round by unseeded Elena Rybakina, in straight sets.[61] The swing culminated withWimbledon, where the defending semifinalist finished a disappointing grass-court swing with a straight-set loss to unseeded Magda Linette, in just the second round. Her elimination marked the biggest upset of the year's tournament at the time.[62]
At the2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Svitolina embarked on her second Olympics appearance and entered into thesingles tennis tournament as the fourth seed. This would be her second bid to earn her home country its very first medal in tennis in Olympics history.[63] After defeatingCamila Giorgi in the quarterfinals, she was stopped from reaching the gold medal match by Markéta Vondroušová in the semifinals when she lost in straight sets.[64][65] Disappointed from losing the semifinals but unfazed, she faced off against Elena Rybakina in the bronze medal match in a rematch since their encounter in Eastbourne.[66] This time, Svitolina exacted revenge and came back from a set down to win the second set tiebreak and the decider. Speaking on the significance of the victory after winning the bronze medal, Svitolina exclaimed, "To win such a big battle for the bronze, it means the world for me. Everyone in Ukraine is watching, we don't win so many medals, it's very special for me and Ukraine."[67]
I want to be remembered as a fighter for my country. I want to win everything that I play and I always try to do my best and be at my best for Ukraine.
Coming off of her win in Tokyo, Svitolina hoped to continue her streak of success in the beginning of the North American hardcourt swing during the year'sUS Open Series, but she quickly failed to materialize crucial wins in the first two tournaments of the swing. At theCanadian Open, third-seeded Svitolina was defeated in her first match byJohanna Konta in a three-set loss, despite having won the first set. The loss marked her first in their six-match head-to-head record.[68] The following week, at theCincinnati Open, fourth-seeded Svitolina was again ousted in her first match, this time against Angelique Kerber in another three-set loss.[69] After her disappointing early exits, Svitolina traveled to Michigan for the inauguralChicago Open as the top seed, where she won her 16th WTA title after defeating Alizé Cornet in the final match, in straight sets. Regarding her decision to play in Chicago, Svitolina said, "I came here to get some confidence, play some good matches, and in the end it happened like that. I'm looking forward to New York."[70][71]
At theUS Open, fifth-seeded Svitolina began her campaign with straight-sets wins overRebecca Marino andRebeka Masarova in the first and second round, respectively.[72][73] She followed those victories with two additional straight-set wins over 25th seedDaria Kasatkina and 12th seedSimona Halep to reach her second US Open quarterfinal.[74][75] But in the quarterfinals, Svitolina was toppled by unseeded 19-year-oldLeylah Fernandez in a thriller three-setter that saw Svitolina take the second set and come back from three games down in the decider to take the set to a tiebreak.[76] Svitolina ultimately became the third of four seeded players that Fernandez defeated while on her winning streak to reach her first Grand Slam final.[77]
A few weeks later, in a bid to replicate the success she experienced in Chicago just a few weeks prior, Svitolina entered into the inauguralChicago Fall Tennis Classic as the top seed, but she lost to sixth seed and eventual finalistOns Jabeur in straight sets in the quarterfinals. The loss was her first to Jabeur in their four encounters.[78] AtIndian Wells, the defending semifinalist entered as the fourth seed and fought off Sorana Cîrstea in the third round in a three-set match, where she was down by a break in the deciding set, before she was swiftly ousted by Pegula in the fourth round in a straight-setsbreadstick defeat.[79][80] Following the loss, she explained to the press that she had been suffering from a muscle strain in her right leg during the tournament, which prevented her from practicing regularly and severely hampered her movement during her final match.[81] Her season-end struggles continued after a first-round defeat byCamila Osorio at theTenerife Ladies Open, despite being the top seed.[82] For the first time in four years, she ended the year outside of the top 10, ranked at No. 15.[83]
Svitolina's disappointing beginning to her season consisted of back-to-back losses at theAdelaide International 1 (toAnastasia Gasanova) and2 (toMadison Keys).[84][85] She then jumpstarted her first major campaign of the year as the 15th seed at theAustralian Open with two consecutive wins overFiona Ferro[86] andHarmony Tan[87] before she quickly succumbed toVictoria Azarenka, after winning just two games in their third-round encounter.[88] Of her eight remaining matches of the season, Svitolina managed to win just three, with two being inMonterrey that led to her only quarterfinal of the year, where she lost toCamila Osorio.[89]
Following the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, Svitolina made headlines when she declared she would not play against anyone representingRussia orBelarus, after she was placed against Russian playerAnastasia Potapova in the first round of the Monterrey draw, and she and her compatriots demanded that the tennis governing bodies deem any Russian or Belarusian player to beneutral athletes during the war. Her concerns were later heeded.[90][91][92]
On 31 March 2022, Svitolina announced that she was taking a temporary break from competition, citing health problems, including back pain, and emotional exhaustion from theRussian invasion of Ukraine.[93] In May, she later announced that she was pregnant with her first child,[94] after which she gave birth in October.[95]
Throughout her hiatus, Svitolina took on an active role in charity exhibitions and galas to raise awareness and money in support of Ukraine. In July, she joined Iga Świątek andAgnieszka Radwańska for an exhibition inKraków in which she was the chair umpire; together, they raised over€400,000 for her eponymous foundation,United24, andUNICEF Polska.[96][97] In October, she raised over€240,000 for her foundation and United24 in a charity gala inMonaco.[98]
Joined by new coachRaemon Sluiter, Svitolina made her return to the tour at theCharleston Open in April with a wildcard,[99][100] where she lost in three sets againstYulia Putintseva.[101] She continued her comeback by entering into two tournaments on theITF Women's World Tennis Tour, marking her return to the circuit for the first time in ten years.[102] In May, Svitolina won consecutive matches for the first time in the season at theOpen de Saint-Malo and reached the semifinals, where she bowed out to eventual championSloane Stephens.[103][104] The newfound momentum led Svitolina to her 17th career WTA title inStrasbourg overAnna Blinkova; it was her second title in Strasbourg, her first title in 21 months, and it extended her perfect streaks in clay court finals to six andWTA 250 finals to ten.[105]
She reached the fourth round at theFrench Open defeating 26th seedMartina Trevisan, along with comeback wins over qualifierStorm Hunter, and again over Anna Blinkova. She went on to defeat the ninth seed Daria Kasatkina to book her spot in a Grand Slam quarterfinal for the ninth time in her career, her fourth at the French Open and her first at a major since the US Open in 2021.[106] Despite losing to world No. 2 and reigning Australian Open champion, Aryna Sabalenka, in straight sets, Svitolina returned to the top 100 on 12 June 2023.[107]
Her good form continued atWimbledon where she reached back to back quarterfinals as a wildcard defeatingVenus Williams, Elise Mertens, Sofia Kenin and 19th seed Victoria Azarenka. She defeated the world No. 1, Iga Świątek, to make her second Wimbledon semifinal.[108] It was also her fourth win over a major champion.She became the third player in theOpen Era to defeat four former major champions in a single Grand Slam tournament after Serena Williams at the 1999 US Open and Justine Henin at Roland Garros in 2005.[109] As a result she returned to the top 30 rising close to 50 positions up in the rankings.
In July 2023 when Ukrainian four-time individual world sabre championOlga Kharlan was disqualified at theWorld Fencing Championships for not shaking the hand of her defeated Russian opponent, though she instead offered a tapping of blades in acknowledgement, Svitolina voiced support for Kharlan.[110][111] "Why don't Russians respect our position?" she asked.[110] She called on theFédération Internationale d'Escrime to follow the WTA's lead; it has supported Svitolina's decision to not shake hands with Russians or Belarusians after matches.[112] She said "I think the other sports federations should do the same. They should respect our decision, and the decision of our country as well."[112] Svitolina called the FIE's disqualification "disrespectful" towards Ukrainians.[112]
.png)
At the2024 Australian Open, Svitolina reached the fourth round, but retired with a back injury in her match againstLinda Noskova.[113]
Seeded 21st atWimbledon, she defeated world No. 10,Ons Jabeur, in the third round[114] andWang Xinyu in round four,[115] to set up a quarterfinal against fourth seedElena Rybakina which she lost in straight sets.[116]
She ended her 2024 season early at the end of September following her withdrawal due to surgery from theChina Open.[117]
With her second-round win overCaroline Dolehide at the2025 Australian Open, Svitolina became the first Ukrainian player, male or female, in theOpen Era with 100 main draw wins at Grand Slams. She subsequently reached the quarterfinals with wins over fourth seedJasmine Paolini and former world No. 9Veronika Kudermetova for the third time at the tournament.[118][119]
.jpg)
Svitolina is a defensive baseliner.The Guardian described Svitolina's playing style as "deceptively casual", but being capable of "brilliant displays" when in good form.[120] Svitolina is capable of turning defense into offense when given the chance, and is capable of hitting low-risk winners from defensive positions. Her groundstrokes are very consistent and are hit with moderate power, although she is capable of hitting groundstrokes with significant power when the opportunity arises. Her backhand is her stronger side, especially down the line and on the run, although both her forehand and her backhand penetrate deep into the court. Her second serve is particularly weak and often exploited allowing return winners. She often struggles if playing against someone who is very aggressive and not making many unforced errors on that day.[121] Her first serve speed peaks at 110 mph (175 km/h), allowing her to serve aces. She has been known to struggle with volleying at the net, but she possesses good reactions, and she can accelerate well across the court to deal with short balls. Her favourite surfaces aregrass andclay,[6] although she is yet to reach a singles final on grass.
Svitolina was coached by Sébastien Mathieu in 2013 and 2014. She then worked with Iain Hughes for two and a half years, and chose to split from him in November 2016.[6][122] In February 2016, she added former world No. 1Justine Henin to her coaching team.[123] In late 2016, Svitolina announced thatGabriel Urpí would be her new coach, withThierry Ascione replacing Henin as her new coaching consultant.[124] Ascione coached Svitolina until the 2018 US Open, and she then had a brief stint withNick Saviano, whilst still being accompanied on a weekly basis by hitting partner Andrew Bettles. Bettles became her full-time coach for the 2018 season, and former playerMarcos Baghdatis began working with her for the 2020 season. Following the end of her 2021 season, Svitolina split with Bettles,[125] announcing her new team would be made ofAndis Juška as new coach andGunter Bresnik as consultant.[126] After her maternity leave hiatus in 2022, Svitolina returned to the tour in April 2023 withRaemon Sluiter.[99] Svitolina announced she had split from Sluiter on 19 July 2024.[127]
Svitolina had been endorsed byNike for clothing and shoes since 2016, having previously been sponsored byEllesse andLacoste. In 2023, she began endorsingAdidas clothing and shoes.
Svitolina usedWilson racquets, specifically endorsing the Wilson Blade range of racquets.[128] In 2025 she endorsed the companyDiadem Sports, and specifically started playing with theirAxis 98 racquet.[129]
Svitolina is married toATP tennis playerGaël Monfils. They began their relationship in 2019, announced their engagement on 3 April 2021, and were married on 16 July.[130][131][132] Svitolina does not plan on changing her surname with theITF to Monfils while she is an active player;[133] however, she uses "Elina Monfils" on her social media profiles.[134][135]
On 15 May 2022,[136] Svitolina and Monfils announced they were expecting their first child together, a girl.[137] She was born later that year.[138]
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
| Tournament | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | SR | W–L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | A | 1R | 3R | 3R | 2R | 3R | QF | QF | 3R | 4R | 3R | A | 4R | QF | 0 / 12 | 29–12 | 71% |
| French Open | Q1 | Q2 | 2R | 2R | QF | 4R | QF | 3R | 3R | QF | 3R | A | QF | 4R | 0 / 11 | 29–11 | 73% | |
| Wimbledon | A | Q1 | 1R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 4R | 1R | SF | NH | 2R | A | SF | QF | 0 / 10 | 20–10 | 67% | |
| US Open | A | 1R | 2R | 1R | 3R | 3R | 4R | 4R | SF | A | QF | A | 3R | 3R | 0 / 11 | 24–11 | 69% | |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–4 | 3–4 | 9–4 | 7–4 | 12–4 | 9–4 | 15–4 | 6–2 | 10–4 | 2–1 | 11–3 | 12–4 | 4–1 | 0 / 44 | 102–44 | 70% |
| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze | 2021 | Tokyo Olympics 2020 | Hard |  Elena Rybakina | 1–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–4 |
| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 2018 | WTA Finals, Singapore | Hard (i) |  Sloane Stephens | 3–6, 6–2, 6–2 |
| Loss | 2019 | WTA Finals, Shenzhen | Hard (i) |  Ashleigh Barty | 4–6, 3–6 |
Member 3rd Class of theOrder of Merit (2017)[139]
Member 2nd Class of theOrder of Merit (2020)[140]
Member 3rd Class of theOrder of Princess Olga (2021)[143]
United24 ambassadors | ||
|---|---|---|
|  | |
