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Svitolina- Author; si.robi-

Top 10 Fascinating Facts about Elina Svitolina

Elina Mykhailivna Svitolina, born on 12th September 1994, is a Ukrainian professional tennis player.

She reached career-high rankings of the world’s number 3 in singles and 108 in doubles. Svitolina has won 16 WTA Tour singles titles and finished runner-up three times.

Svitolina was born in Odesa to Ukrainian parents Mikhaylo Svitolin (a former wrestler) and Olena Svitolina (a former competitive rower).

Unusually, she was named after the famous Ukrainian actress Elina Bystritska and also has an older brother, Yulian.

As a child, Elina 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.

1. First broke into the world’s top in 2013

Elina Svitolina- Author; 袗谢械泻褋邪薪写褉 袨褋懈锌芯胁-

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 the first Ukrainian woman to reach the top 10 in rankings after surpassing compatriot Alona Bondarenko.

2. Elina has won five other titles after that first championship

Svitolina at the Aegon International Tennis- Author; Andrew Campbell-

After winning her first WTA title in 2013, she won five additional titles until 2017, during which she won five titles that same year, propelling her into the top 10.

Among her titles include the 2018 WTA Finals and three of five Premier 5-level tournaments: the Dubai Tennis Championships, the Italian Open, and the Canadian Open.

She has also won two titles in doubles, both at the 陌stanbul Cup in 2014 and 2015. Svitolina produced her best performances at a major in 2019, having reached her two Grand Slam semifinals at the Wimbledon Championships and the US Open.

In 2021, Svitolina won the Olympic bronze medal in the women’s singles tournament at the 2020 Summer Olympics and became the first Olympian to win a medal in tennis for Ukraine.

3. She started playing at a very young age of five

Young tennis players practicing- Author; RIA Novosti archive-

She started playing at age five. Svitolina and her family moved to Kharkiv, Ukraine, when she was 13 after businessman Yuriy Sapronov became her sponsor.

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. Her greatest achievement was winning the French Open girls event in 2010

Svitolina in 2010- Author; Robbie Mendelson-

Svitolina’s greatest achievement as a junior was winning the French Open girls event in 2010, beating Tunisian Ons Jabeur in the final.

She reached her first professional singles final at the $25k tournament in Kharkiv in May 2010.

Svitolina also reached the final of the girls’ singles event at the 2012 Wimbledon Championships, where she lost to Eugenie Bouchard. Svitolina qualified for the US Open.

She was defeated in the first round by 12th seed and eventual quarterfinalist Ana Ivanovic. She won the WTA 125 Royal Indian Open title in Pune, defeating Andreja Klepa膷, Rutuja Bhosale, Luksika Kumkhum, former top-10 player Andrea Petkovic, and Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm in the final.

5. Svitolina became the first teenager to win a WTA tournament since 2012

Elina Svitolina in 2012- Author; 袗谢械泻褋邪薪写褉 袨褋懈锌芯胁- Wikimedia

Svitolina gained direct entry into the Australian Open, where she was defeated by fifth seed Angelique Kerber in the first round.

She won her first WTA title at the Baku Cup by beating Shahar Pe’er. In doing so, Svitolina became the first teenager to win a WTA tournament since February 2012.

The victory led to a jump of 32 spots in the WTA rankings, landing her at No. 49 on 29 July 2013.

6. At the Australian open games, Elina defeated a two-time grand slam champion and three-time Australian Open quarterfinalist

Svitolina- Author; Tatiana-

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

7. Her 11th title came after defending her crown in Dubai

Svitolina playing- Author; Tatiana-

Svitolina’s 11th career title came after a successful defence of her crown in Dubai, where she brushed aside Daria Kasatkina in the final.

After losing to Carla Su谩rez Navarro in the third round of Indian Wells, she produced her best-ever result in Miami, reaching the quarterfinals before falling to eventual runner-up Je募ena Ostapenko in straight sets.

Rebounding from a second-round loss in Madrid to Su谩rez Navarro, Svitolina claimed her second straight Italian Open crown, defeating top seed Simona Halep in two sets, in a rematch of the previous year’s final.

At the French Open, Svitolina posted wins against Ajla Tomljanovi膰 and Vikt贸ria Ku啪mov谩, before being upset in the third round by Mihaela Buz膬rnescu

8. Elina’s playing has been described as deceptively casual

Svitolina at the court- Author; Christian Mesiano-

The Guardian described Svitolina’s playing style as “deceptively casual”, but being capable of “brilliant displays” when in good form.

Svitolina is capable of turning defence into offence 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.

9. Her second serve is usually weak thus exploited often

Elina Svitolina serving- Author; Alexisrael-

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.

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 are grass and clay, although she is yet to reach a single final on grass.

10. She has been coached by some of the greatest coaches

Tennis coach in Duhok teaches backhand- Author; Firm Foundations Duhok-

Svitolina was coached by S茅bastien 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.

In February 2016, she added former world No. 1, Justine Henin, to her coaching team. In late 2016, Svitolina announced that Gabriel Urp铆 would be her new coach, with Thierry Ascione replacing Henin as her new coaching consultant.

Ascione coached Svitolina until the 2018 US Open, and she then had a brief stint with Nick 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 player Marcos Baghdatis began working with her for the 2020 season.

Following the end of her 2021 season, Svitolina split with Bettles announcing her new team will be made of Andis Ju拧ka as a new coach and Gunter Bresnik as a consultant.