Elina Svitolina has said that a mental break she took towards the end of the year has contributed to her form at the start of the 2026 season.
The Ukrainian is into the semi-finals at Indian Wells after she produced a stunning win over Iga Swiatek.
After her big win over Swiatek Svitolina spoke about the performance and how being aggressive was the key to victory for her, “Yeah, it was a good day for me. I played really well. I mean, I wouldn’t say it was the perfect match, but in a way, I could stay in the match and fight and find a way after losing second set. But, yeah, definitely very happy with the performance overall,” Svitolina stated in her press conference.
“Yeah, it’s not only against her, but I think just generally trying to be more aggressive, trying to go for my shots. There is no champion who is waiting for the mistakes, and you have to really try to set up yourself in a good position to attack.
“Yeah, I was feeling good. I was trying to really, you know, open up the court and try to take the advantage, because Iga is such an aggressive player, and she moves really well. So if you don’t, in the right time, you don’t take the opportunity, she’s gonna take it.”
It’s been a sensational season for Svitolina so far who reached the Australian Open semi-finals before reaching the final in Dubai.
When analysing her on-court success Svitolina has said the small tactical differences count for a lot ahead of another WTA semi-final, “Well, of course I put some work into my game, you know, and worked on a few tactical things, you know. Really looked on some statistics on the court that worked, and what didn’t work I think it was important for me to see with my own eyes,” Svitolina explained.
“Sometimes, of course, the feeling and what you see can be different. That’s why, you know, I have my team there to really, you know, give me all this information, and then I had time to work on few things, yeah, on the serve, on the return, and generally just everything. Because we are in such a high level, you know, all these, like, small differences, small adjustments, they work, and that’s what makes the difference between, like, being consistent and, you know, having good week here and there.
“And for me, yeah, it’s important to find, you know, the small edges where I can improve my game. Because obviously, you know, I’m playing good, but, you know, I want to be even more consistent.
“I want to win, you know, easier also the matches sometimes. Yeah, it’s those small edges that you want to, you know, to get better at. Yeah, it’s one of the things that we worked on. Yeah, I feel like it’s helped me to see a little bit my game a bit different. Yeah, just clicked, a few things. But, I mean, I didn’t start the year, I would say, at my very best at the beginning. I mean, I worked my way in and playing in Auckland, trying to get a few matches here and there, because I didn’t play for, like, three months since I finished the year in September.
“Yeah, I think it’s just came together slowly, and yeah, here we have the results. Yeah, I want to push more, I want to go for even better.”
However, it’s not just on the court improvements that have helped Svitolina’s game this season as taking a mental break has also benefited her game in the long run.
The Ukrainian detailed how taking a mental break away from the court has helped her find her confidence in 2026, “The time that I took, firstly mentally, made a big difference for me, because I was overwhelmed. I was just tired, drained completely,” Svitolina admitted.
“Also, I, like, maybe put maybe too much pressure on myself, but also, you know, with everything that I have on my plate is quite a lot, as well. So sometimes, you know, it’s important to take a little bit of time off, and sometimes, you know, like I did, helped me to really, you know, let go everything and start again from zero. I didn’t play for one month.
“I did some physical stuff, some fitness to improve, like, little things, prevention. And then slowly started to do again the specific work for the court and then was back on court with my coach and the team. So this definitely, I think, refreshed my mind massively, because after being too much and too overwhelmed to being again ready to face difficult situations and to be ready to again find this fire inside of me, because I think that’s what drives me.
“There is no fire, I mean, I don’t want to practice, I don’t want to do this routine work, because in tennis is a lot about the routine.”
Svitolina will hope that her routine amounts to the same success when she faces Elena Rybakina in the Indian Wells semi-finals.
