Elina Svitolina

Elina Svitolina
Еліна Світоліна

Elina Svitolina at the 2015 French Open
Country (sports)  Ukraine
Residence Kharkiv, Ukraine
Born (1994-09-12) 12 September 1994
Odessa, Ukraine
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Turned pro 2010
Plays Right-handed (two handed-backhand)
Coach(es) Sébastien Mathieu (2013–2014)
Iain Hughes (2014–2016)
Justine Henin (2016)
Prize money $ 2,789,003
Singles
Career record 203–124 (62.08%)
Career titles 4 WTA, 1 WTA 125K, 6 ITF
Highest ranking No. 14 (7 March 2016)
Current ranking No. 14 (24 October 2016)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open 3R (2014, 2015)
French Open QF (2015)
Wimbledon 2R (2015, 2016)
US Open 3R (2015, 2016)
Doubles
Career record 44–43
Career titles 2 WTA, 2 ITF
Highest ranking No. 108 (4 May 2015)
Current ranking No. 166 (4 April 2016)
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
French Open 2R (2015)
Wimbledon 3R (2014)
US Open 1R (2014)
Team competitions
Fed Cup 7–8
Hopman Cup F (2016)
Last updated on: 4 April 2016.

Elina Mykhaylivna Svitolina (Ukrainian: Еліна Михайлівна Світоліна, pronounced [ˈɛlʲinɑ switɔˈlʲinɑ]; born 12 September 1994) is a Ukrainian professional tennis player. As of 18 July 2016, she is ranked world no. 20 and is the highest-ranked Ukrainian player. She reached her WTA career high ranking of 14 on 7 March 2016.

Svitolina has won four WTA titles. She won her first title at the 2013 Baku Cup and successfully defended it in 2014. She then earned her first Top 10 career victory when she defeated Petra Kvitová in the round of 16 in Cincinnati. In 2015, she made her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the French Open where she lost to Ana Ivanovic. That same year, she also won her third WTA title in Marrakech. Her fourth WTA trophy came in early 2016 as she beat Eugenie Bouchard in the final at the 2016 Malaysian Open.

Tennis career

Early career

Svitolina's best achievement as a junior is winning the Roland Garros girls event in 2010, beating Tunisian Ons Jabeur in the final.[2] She reached her first professional singles final at the ITF $25,000 tournament in Kharkiv in May 2010.[3] Svitolina also reached the final of the girl's singles event at the 2012 Wimbledon Championships where she lost to future Top 10 player Eugenie Bouchard. Svitolina qualified for the 2012 US Open. She was defeated in the first round by 12th seed and eventual quarter-finalist Ana Ivanovic of Serbia. She won the WTA 125K 2012 Royal Indian Open title in Pune, defeating Andreja Klepač, Rutuja Bhosale, Luksika Kumkhum, former Top 10 player Andrea Petkovic, and Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm in the final.

2013

Svitolina gained direct entry into the 2013 Australian Open, where she was defeated by fifth seed Angelique Kerber in the first round. She won her first WTA title in at the 2013 Baku Cup by beating Shahar Pe'er; in doing so, Svitolina became the first teenager to win a WTA tournament since February 2012.[4] The victory also translated into a jump of 32 spots in the WTA Rankings, landing her at No. 49 in the rankings of 29 July 2013.[5]

2014

At the 2014 Australian Open, Svitolina defeated two-time Grand Slam champion and three-time Australian Open quarter-finalist Svetlana Kuznetsova in the opening round in straight sets.[6] She went on to reach the third round, losing to Sloane Stephens in straight sets.

At the Western & Southern Open later in the year, Svitolina recorded the first top ten victory of her career, defeating recently crowned Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitová in the second round.[7] She proceeded to reach her first quarterfinal at Premier 5 level, eventually losing to Ana Ivanovic in straight sets.[8]

Svitolina reached her first Premier 5 semifinal in the first edition of the WTA tournament in Wuhan, defeating Camila Giorgi, Sabine Lisicki, Garbiñe Muguruza via walkover, and Angelique Kerber before losing to Petra Kvitová in the semifinals.

2015: First Grand Slam quarterfinal

Svitolina began her 2015 season at the 2015 Brisbane International where she reached the semifinals before losing to eventual champion Maria Sharapova. At the Australian Open, Svitolina reached the third round, and won the first set against world number one and eventual champion Serena Williams before losing in three sets.[9] She fell in the second round in both Dubai and Doha, losing in tight three set matches to Petra Kvitová and Victoria Azarenka respectively.

As the 23rd seed in Indian Wells, she defeated Alison Van Uytvanck and Lucie Šafářová, before losing in the fourth round to Timea Bacsinszky. The following week in Miami, she defeated Bojana Jovanovski, before losing in the third round to the eighth seed Ekaterina Makarova. As the top seed at a tournament for the first time in Bogotá, Svitolina reached the semifinals, defeating Louisa Chirico, Danka Kovinić and Irina Falconi, before losing to eventual champion Teliana Pereira.

Svitolina continued her successful start to the clay court season by winning her third career title and first on clay in Marrakech, recovering from 2–5 down in the opening set to defeat Tímea Babos in straight sets. The victory propelled her to a career high ranking of 21. She also reached the semifinals in doubles with compatriot Olga Savchuk. The following week in Madrid, after easily dispatching Daniela Hantuchová, Svitolina lost to Ana Ivanovic for the sixth time in her career. A similar scenario occurred in Rome, where she defeated Flavia Pennetta in straight sets before losing to Venus Williams.

At the French Open, after comfortably seeing off Yanina Wickmayer in her opening match, Svitolina had to recover from 0–3 in the second set and 1–4 in the final set to beat Yulia Putintseva in a match that lasted over three hours. Another tight three set victory ensued in the third round against Annika Beck, before Svitolina defeated Alizé 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 number 17 after this tournament, surpassing Alona 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 of Eastbourne to Heather Watson. As the 17th seed at Wimbledon, she came from a set down to beat Misaki Doi, who beat her at the same stage the previous year, before again losing in the second round to Australian Casey Dellacqua. Despite losing in the first round of İstanbul to Magdaléna Rybáriková, Svitolina successfully defended her doubles title from the previous year, this time partnering Daria Gavrilova.

Svitolina began her American hard court season with a run to the semifinals in Stanford, losing in straight sets to eventual champion Angelique Kerber. At the Rogers Cup, Svitolina lost in the first round to Victoria Azarenka. Svitolina bettered her performance from the previous year in Cincinnati, defeating Alison Riske, Eugenie Bouchard and Caroline 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 the US Open in New Haven, where she retired from her first round match against Madison Keys. She progressed to the third round of the US Open, defeating Elizaveta Kulichkova and Kaia Kanepi, before losing to 13th seed Ekaterina Makarova for the third time this year.

The Asian hard court swing began in Tokyo for Svitolina, where she lost in the second round to eventual champion Agnieszka Radwańska. Svitolina failed to repeat her success from the previous year in Wuhan, losing in the third round to Karolína Plíšková. Similarly disappointing results ensued for Svitolina, losing in the second round of Beijing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, and the first round of Tianjin to Elena Vesnina.

Despite this disappointing end to her season, Svitolina's consistency throughout the year earned her a spot as the eighth seed at the inaugural WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai. She was drawn into Group B with second seed Carla Suárez Navarro and Andrea Petkovic. Svitolina topped the group by winning both her matches, advancing to the semifinals where she lost to Karolína Plíšková. Svitolina's last match of the season was against Pauline Parmentier in the first round of the 125K event in Limoges, which she lost on a final set tiebreak.

2016: Fourth WTA title; Olympic quarterfinals

Svitolina began her season at the 2016 Hopman Cup, representing Ukraine with Alexandr Dolgopolov. She was undefeated in her singles matches in the round robin stage, defeating Victoria Duval, Karolína Plíšková and Jarmila Wolfe. Svitolina and Dolgopolov were the winners of their group, and advanced to the final, where the Australian pairing of Nick Kyrgios and Daria Gavrilova defeated them 2-0, with Svitolina losing her singles match in straight sets. At the Sydney International, Svitolina lost in the first round to Angelique Kerber. She then competed at the 2016 Australian Open, where she defeated Victoria Duval in straight sets, before losing to Japanese qualifier Naomi Osaka in the second round.

In her first tournament with Justine Henin acting as a coaching consultant, Svitolina advanced to the semifinals in Dubai, defeating qualifier Jana Čepelová, earning her first top 10 win of the year over second seed Garbiñe Muguruza,[10] and battling past Coco Vandeweghe in three sets, before losing to eventual champion Sara Errani. Svitolina subsequently lost in the first round in Doha to Denisa Allertová.

Her next tournament was the Malaysian Open, where she defeated Miyu Kato, Risa Ozaki, Kristína Kučová and Zhu Lin en route to the final where she beat a resurgent Eugenie Bouchard in a rain-interrupted marathon to win her 4th WTA 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 the 2016 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, 17th seed Svitolina defeated Annika Beck, before losing in straight sets to ninth seed Roberta Vinci. Then, in Miami, after defeating Australian Open quarterfinalist Zhang Shuai, Svitolina scored one of the biggest victories of her career, coming from a break down in the third set to defeat former world number one 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 last year.

Svitolina began her clay court season with a disappointing first round loss to Alexandra Panova in Bogotá, followed by a second round loss to Daria Gavrilova in Madrid, and a first round loss to qualifier Mónica Puig in Rome. Entering the 2016 French Open in poor form, Svitolina beat Romanian qualifier Sorana Cîrstea and wildcard Taylor Townsend before beating nemesis and former world number one Ana Ivanovic in straight sets.[11] She then lost in the fourth round to world number one, defending champion and eventual finalist Serena Williams.

After Roland Garros, Svitolina began her grass season in Birmingham where she lost in the first round to Carla Suárez Navarro. At Wimbledon, she beat Naomi Broady in straight sets before being upset by Yaroslava Shvedova.

At the Rio Olympics, Svitolina scored her first win over defending champion and then World Number 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.[12]

Svitolina's American hard court season began with a run to the third round of Montreal, losing to Angelique Kerber. After a disappointing early loss to Daria Gavrilova in Cincinnati, she rebounded at New Haven, reaching the final before losing to Agnieszka Radwańska. At the US Open, Svitolina reached the third round for the second consecutive year with wins over Mandy Minella and Lauren Davis, however she lost to Petra Kvitová once again.

The Asian swing proved to be fruitful for Svitolina, reaching the semifinals of both Tokyo, where she was defeated by Naomi Osaka, and Beijing, 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 in Zhuhai for the second year running. Her good form continued at the last Premier event of the season in Moscow, where she reached the semifinals, her 3rd in 4 tournaments, before bowing out to eventual champion Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Svitolina concluded her season as the fourth seed in Zhuhai. She topped her group by defeating Kiki Bertens and Elena Vesnina, and then came from a set down to defeat top seed Johanna Konta in the semifinals to advance to her third final of the year, where she lost to Petra Kvitová. Svitolina finished the season ranked 14th, with an impressive 13-5 win/loss record following the US Open.

Coaches

Svitolina worked with Iain Hughes for two and a half years, and chose to split with him in November 2016.[13][14] In February 2016, Svitolina appointed former world number one Justine Henin as a member of her coaching team.[15]

Personal life

Elina Svitolina was born to Olena Svitolina and Mikhaylo Svitolin and has a brother named Yulian.[13] She resides at Kharkiv, Ukraine, and started playing tennis at age 5, when she was introduced to the sport by her family.[13][16] Her favourite surfaces are grass and clay.[13]

Equipment

Svitolina uses Wilson racquets and is sponsored by Nike, having previously been sponsored by Italian sports apparel company Ellesse and French apparel Lacoste.[17]

Career statistics

Grand Slam tournament performance timeline

Key
W  F  SF QF R# RR Q# A NH
(W) Won tournament; reached (F) final, (SF) semifinal, (QF) quarterfinal; (R#) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; competed at a (RR) round-robin stage; reached a (Q#) qualification round; (A) absent; or (NH) tournament not held.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated either at the conclusion of a tournament, or when the player's participation in the tournament has ended.

Current through 2016 US Open.

Tournament201120122013201420152016SRW–L
Australian Open A A 1R 3R 3R 2R 0 / 4 5–4
French Open Q1 Q2 2R 2R QF 4R 0 / 4 9–4
Wimbledon A Q1 1R 1R 2R 2R 0 / 4 2–4
US Open A 1R 2R 1R 3R 3R 0 / 5 5–5
Win–Loss 0–0 0–1 2–4 3–4 9–4 7–4 0 / 17 21–17

References

  1. ↑ "Elina Svitolina official website". Retrieved July 2, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Svitolina and Velotti take French Open junior titles". Roland Garros. June 6, 2010. Archived from the original on August 11, 2010. Retrieved August 18, 2010.
  3. ↑ "$25,000 Kharkiv Ukraine Women's Singles - Main Draw". International Tennis Federation. Retrieved August 18, 2010.
  4. ↑ Elina Svitolina picks up first WTA title at Baku Cup, United Press International (28 July 2013)
  5. ↑ Svitolina rising quickly in WTA rankings, United Press International (29 July 2013)
  6. ↑ Serena earns record-tying 60th victory at Australian Open, Arizona Daily Star, 15 January 2014
  7. ↑ Kuznetsova stuns Bouchard in Cincy, WTA official website, 13 August 2014
  8. ↑ Sharapova wins Halep showdown, WTA official website, 15 August 2014
  9. ↑ "Serena Williams fends off Elina Svitolina to reach fourth round of Australian Open". DNA India. 24 January 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  10. ↑ http://www.dubaidutyfreetennischampionships.com/en/news-and-media/news/2016/02/17/dubai-2016-wta-wed-evening-report
  11. ↑ "Svitolina ends former champion's run". Roland Garros. Retrieved 2016-07-24.
  12. ↑ "Rio 2016: Australian Samantha Stosur, top-ranked Serena Williams out of Olympic women's singles". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 10 August 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Elina Svitolina at the International Tennis Federation
  14. ↑ "Svitolina Splits With Coach Iain Hughes". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 2016-11-16.
  15. ↑ "Henin to help rising Svitolina." Women's Tennis Association. Published February 11, 2016.
  16. ↑ http://www.wtatennis.com/players/player/15788/title/elina-svitolina
  17. ↑ "NIKE signs up rising Ukrainian star Elina Svitolina". Tennis World. 3 January 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
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