For world No.4 Elina Svitolina, her ultimate goal is to one day become the first player from her country to top the WTA rankings.
The 23-year-old enters next week’s French Open rich in form. Recently at the Italian Open she defeated Simona Halep in straight sets to defend her title at the tournament. Bringing her trophy tally to three this season. Svitolina is one of only three women to win three or more WTA titles so far this season. Joining Elise Mertens (3) and Petra Kvitova (4).
Bidding to reach the quarter-finals at Roland Garros for the third time in her career, Svitolina also has a shot at her ultimate goal – the No.1 ranking. In this year’s draw, six players could potentially finish the tournament at the top. For Svitolina, she needs to hope for her rivals to exit the tournament earlier than her.
“Definitely for me, my goal is to be number one. In Ukraine, being number one is something bigger (than winning a grand slam) because lots of people (notice you) if you are number one in the world,” Svitolina told Reuters.
“For the tennis world, winning a grand slam might be better but for people who do not know tennis, being number one gets more attention.”
Number #1 scenarios for Roland Garros via @WTA.https://t.co/tLzmIKhBJ1 pic.twitter.com/q4u1GcaT6r
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) May 23, 2018
Currently with 12 WTA trophies under her belt, Svitolina has partly attributed her rise to what she learned during her time with Justine Henin. Seven-time grand slam champion Henin joined the team back in February 2016 as a coaching consultant. A collaboration that lasted for a year.
“It was more about how she sees my game, what I have to improve to play more consistently and be stronger. We have different playing styles so I just took on board what suited me and it helped me a lot.” Svitolina said about her time with the Belgian.
Vowing to ‘give her best shot’ at the French Open, the Ukrainian is seeking to reach the last four of a major tournament for the first time. Svitolina has won more main draw matches at Roland Garros than any other grand slam tournament so far in her career.
The French Open will get underway on Sunday.
