Elina Svitolina says she must continue to work hard to achieve her dream of winning a Grand Slam title after ousting Jasmine Paolini in a marathon encounter at the French Open.
The Ukrainian world No.14 saved a trio of match points before claiming a 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-1, win over last year’s runner-up. At one stage Svitolina was trailing the match by a set and 4-1. It is the second time she has beaten Paolini at a major tournament after dropping the opening set. The first time she did so was earlier this year at the Australian Open.
“I tried to stick to my game plan, to stay in the match, keep fighting and keep doing aggressive things on the court. Trying to find my opportunities to get back in the match,” Svitolina said of saving three match points.
“Jasmine played really well in the first set. Second set as well.
“I knew that I had to try to give myself a chance to come back into the match and just leave it all there.”
It is the 13th time Svitolina has reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam event and the fifth time she has done so at the French Open. She now has 33 wins at the tournament which is more than any other in her career.
At the age of 30, Svitolina has demonstrated she can compete with the best in the world both before and after motherhood. She missed a year of the Tour between 2022 and 2023 to give birth to her first child. Since returning, she has won two WTA 250 events (both in France) and has reached the quarter-finals or better in five out of her last nine Grand Slam appearances.
“I feel like it’s a process. I had a great two years now being back on Tour. The first year in a few months I got back into the top 20. Then I had an injury which didn’t allow me to finish the season,” she reflected on her comeback.
“Then last September I had surgery. So a mixture of different things didn’t allow me to play a full season. Even in September last year, I still missed the Asian swing.
“Now after the surgery, after playing well in Australia and on clay courts, I feel good. I feel like I’m back with my game.
“I have to work hard to give myself a chance to earn these opportunities to go one step further (at a Grand Slam).”
Away from the court, Svitolina is also fully invested in trying to help those in her country affected by the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia. A foundation set up in her name has raised more than $1m over the past three years.
“I try to give them the opportunity to continue playing sport, to continue dreaming, to continue training, to continue just having this one or two hours a day where they can enjoy the sport,” she said of her charity work.
“I try to do everything to raise money for my foundation to have more opportunities to create for them.”
Svitolina will next play Iga Swiatek at Roland Garros on Tuesday.
