Ukrainian tennis star Elina Svitolina joined an elite club on Monday following her first round Roland Garros victory, as she resumes her comeback after giving birth to her first child.
Svitolina recorded a commanding 6-2 6-2 win over the 26th seeded Martina Trevisan, securing her spot in the second round. However, by virtue of this victory, the former World No.3 also made history by becoming just the eighth female player in the Open Era to win her first 10 opening round matches at Roland Garros.
The 28-year old will be joining an exclusive group, which already hosts the likes of Manuela Maleeva, Steffi Graf, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Conchita Martinez, Mary Pierce, Monica Seles and most recently Serena Williams.
Following her title win in Strasbourg last week, Svitolina will hope to keep her momentum going as she faces Australian Storm Sanders in the second round.
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
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10/10 - Elina Svitolina is the 8th female player in the Open Era to win her first 10 Rounds of 128 at the Roland Garros after Maleeva, Graf, Sanchez Vicario, Conchita Martinez, Pierce, Seles and Serena Williams. Ready.
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