Elina Svitolina: Ukraine’s top female tennis player is 6th best in world, aims to be champion

Name: Elina Svitolina

Age: 23

Education: Children and Youth Sports School of Olympic Reserve

Profession: Tennis player

Did you know? During her career, Svitolina has defeated tennis stars including Serena Williams, Angelique Kerber, and Simona Halep.

Born into a family of athletes, Elina Svitolina started playing tennis at the age of 5, following in the footsteps of her older brother Yulian. He is now a tennis coach in Ukraine, while Svitolina ranks No. 6 in the rating of the Women’s Tennis Association, and is Ukraine’s best female professional tennis player.

Svitolina says she would like to become the world’s top tennis player one day, and she believes she still has plenty of time to achieve her goal.

The Ukrainian athlete has dozens of victories and titles on her list, including 11 WTA tournament victories. In 2017, Svitolina won tournaments in Taipei, Dubai, Rome, Istanbul and Toronto, and became the first player to ever win three Premier 5 titles in a season since this tier of events was introduced in 2009. In September, Svitolina also set a new personal and national record when she rose to No. 3 in the WTA rankings. However, she finished the season at No. 6.

Svitolina says she can’t name the single most important victory in her career, and she is proud of wins in the smaller tournaments as well. She has a philosophical approach to defeats.

“Even when I lose a match, I try to find something positive in it and do not lose heart,” she says.

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Svitolina gives a lot of credit for that to her team, who always find a way to motivate her, make sure she eats well and rests enough.

“I only have a two-week break in a year, and the rest of time I keep training, playing,” Svitolina says. She has a busy schedule, with several tennis training sessions a day, as well as working out. “I devote myself 100 percent to my job, knowing I will get results sooner or later.”

A member of Ukraine’s Olympic Team in 2016, Svitolina says that it’s difficult to be a successful athlete in Ukraine.

“It hurts to see this. I want the sport to develop in Ukraine,” she says, adding however that every year when she comes back to Ukraine on a short break she sees progress.

Despite traveling a lot and mostly training abroad, Svitolina, born in Odesa and raised in Kharkiv, says she would not represent any other country except Ukraine, as she belongs here, and she has already declined several offers from abroad.

Svitolina says sports has given her freedoms she didn’t even dream of before.

“I’ve seen the entire world. When I was growing up I didn’t hope for all this, I just wanted to be the best, but now I receive much more — journeys, emotions, people.”