History of Elina Svitolina in Timeline

Elina Svitolina is a Ukrainian professional tennis player. She achieved a career-high ranking of world No. 3 in singles and No. 108 in doubles by the WTA. Svitolina's accomplishments include winning 17 WTA Tour singles titles, notably the 2018 WTA Finals. She has also reached the semifinals in three major singles tournaments, establishing herself as a prominent figure in women's tennis.

Sections (3)

Full Timeline Early Life & Education Career & Achievements

September 1994: Birth of Elina Svitolina

In September 1994, Elina Mykhailivna Svitolina, a Ukrainian professional tennis player, was born.

Others born on this day/year

1999: Serena Williams

In 1999, Serena Williams at the US Open defeated four former major champions in a single Grand Slam tournament.

2005: Justine Henin

In 2005, Justine Henin at Roland Garros defeated four former major champions in a single Grand Slam tournament.

May 2010: First Professional Final

In May 2010, Svitolina reached her first professional singles final at the $25k tournament in Kharkiv.

February 2012: First Teenager to Win WTA Tournament Since Feb 2012

After winning the Baku Cup, Elina Svitolina became the first teenager to win a WTA tournament since February 2012.

2012: No Title Won Since 2012

In 2012, Svitolina failed to win a title during the year for the first time since 2012.

2012: Wimbledon Final

In 2012, Svitolina reached the final of the girls' singles event at the Wimbledon Championships but lost to Eugenie Bouchard.

July 2013: Breaks into Top 50

In July 2013, Svitolina entered the world's top 50 tennis players.

July 2013: Wins First WTA Title

In July 2013, Svitolina won her first WTA title at the Baku Cup, leading to a jump in the WTA rankings.

2013: Coached by Sébastien Mathieu

In 2013, Sébastien Mathieu began coaching Elina Svitolina.

2014: Clay-Court Season

In 2014, Svitolina started her clay-court season by winning her third title of the year in Istanbul.

2014: Wins First Doubles Title

In 2014, Svitolina won her first doubles title at the İstanbul Cup.

2014: Coached by Sébastien Mathieu

In 2014, Sébastien Mathieu continued coaching Elina Svitolina.

June 2015: Reaches Top 20

In June 2015, Svitolina achieved a ranking in the top 20 tennis players.

February 2016: Justine Henin Joins Coaching Team

In February 2016, former world No. 1 Justine Henin joined Elina Svitolina's coaching team.

November 2016: Split with Iain Hughes

In November 2016, Elina Svitolina chose to split from her coach Iain Hughes after working together for two and a half years.

2016: French Open

At the 2016 French Open, Svitolina was defeated in the third round by Garbiñe Muguruza.

2016: Endorsement by Nike

In 2016, Elina Svitolina began being endorsed by Nike for clothing and shoes, after previously being sponsored by Ellesse and Lacoste.

2016: Premier Mandatory Semifinal

In 2016, Svitolina reached her first Premier Mandatory semifinal since 2016 at Indian Wells, losing to Bianca Andreescu.

May 2017: Enters Top 10

In May 2017, Svitolina became the first Ukrainian woman to reach the top 10 in tennis rankings, surpassing Alona Bondarenko.

May 2017: Defeats to a Player Ranked Outside of Top 30

Since May 2017, Svitolina has had her sixth defeat to a player ranked outside the top 30 at a major event since she had become ranked within the top 10.

2017: Strong Showing in Brisbane

In 2017, Svitolina had a strong showing at the Brisbane International, defeating world No. 1 Angelique Kerber in the quarterfinals.

2018: Coaching Changes

During 2018, Thierry Ascione coached Elina Svitolina until the US Open. She then had a brief stint with Nick Saviano, while Andrew Bettles remained as her hitting partner on a weekly basis. Bettles became her full-time coach for the season.

2018: Svitolina Wins WTA Finals

In 2018, Elina Svitolina won the WTA Finals, marking a significant achievement in her career.

2018: WTA Finals in Shenzhen

In 2018, Svitolina advanced to the final for the second year in succession, as well as her first final since winning the title in 2018.

2018: Wins Brisbane International

In 2018, Svitolina began the season by winning the Brisbane International, defeating Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the final.

2019: Relationship with Gaël Monfils

In 2019, Elina Svitolina began her relationship with ATP tennis player Gaël Monfils.

2019: Reaches Major Semifinals

In 2019, Svitolina had her best major performances, reaching the semifinals at Wimbledon and the US Open.

2020: Tokyo Olympics Bronze Medal

At the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Svitolina won the bronze medal in the singles tennis tournament, securing Ukraine's first-ever medal in Olympic tennis history.

2020: Tokyo Olympics

In 2020, Svitolina won the Olympic bronze medal in the women's singles tournament at the Tokyo Olympics.

2020: Marcos Baghdatis Joins Team

In 2020, former player Marcos Baghdatis began working with Elina Svitolina.

April 2021: Engagement Announcement

On April 3, 2021, Elina Svitolina and Gaël Monfils announced their engagement.

2021: Split with Andrew Bettles

Following the end of her 2021 season, Elina Svitolina split with her coach Andrew Bettles.

2021: Wins Olympic Bronze

In 2021, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Svitolina won the Olympic bronze medal in women's singles, the first tennis medal for Ukraine.

2021: US Open

In 2021, she made an appereance at the US Open.

2021: Learning Languages

Since the COVID-19 quarantine at the 2021 Australian Open, Svitolina has been actively learning the Ukrainian and French languages.

January 2022: Promises to Master Ukrainian

In January 2022, Svitolina pledged in an interview with Dmitry Gordon to master the Ukrainian language.

March 2022: Takes Temporary Break

On 31 March 2022, Svitolina announced she was taking a temporary break from competition, citing health problems and emotional exhaustion.

May 2022: Pregnancy Announcement

On May 15, 2022, Elina Svitolina and Gaël Monfils announced they were expecting their first child, a girl.

2022: Refusal to Play Against Russians and Belarusians

Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, Svitolina declared she would not play against anyone representing Russia or Belarus, after she was placed against Russian player Anastasia Potapova. Her concerns were later heeded when tennis governing bodies deemed any Russian or Belarusian player to be neutral athletes during the war.

2022: Maternity Leave Hiatus

In 2022, Elina Svitolina took a maternity leave hiatus.

2022: Takes Break from Tennis

In 2022, Svitolina took a break from professional tennis to give birth to her first child.

April 2023: Return to Tour with Raemon Sluiter

In April 2023, Elina Svitolina returned to the tour with Raemon Sluiter as her coach.

June 2023: Returns to Top 100

On 12 June 2023, Svitolina returned to the top 100 rankings.

July 2023: Supports Olga Kharlan

In July 2023, Svitolina voiced support for Ukrainian fencer Olga Kharlan, who was disqualified at the World Fencing Championships for not shaking the hand of her defeated Russian opponent. Svitolina called the FIE's disqualification "disrespectful" towards Ukrainians.

2023: Endorsement by Adidas

In 2023, Elina Svitolina began endorsing Adidas clothing and shoes.

2023: Returns to Competition

In 2023, Svitolina made a comeback, winning a WTA Tour title, reaching the French Open quarterfinals and Wimbledon semifinals, beating world No. 1 Iga Świątek.

July 2024: Split from Raemon Sluiter

On July 19, 2024, Elina Svitolina announced that she had split from her coach Raemon Sluiter.

2024: Early end to 2024 season

Elina Svitolina ended her 2024 season early at the end of September following her withdrawal from the China Open due to surgery.

2024: Retirement at Australian Open

In 2024, Elina Svitolina reached the fourth round of the Australian Open but had to retire due to a back injury during her match against Linda Noskova.

2025: 100 Main Draw Wins & Quarterfinal at Australian Open

At the 2025 Australian Open, Elina Svitolina secured her 100th main draw win at Grand Slams, becoming the first Ukrainian player to reach this milestone in the Open Era. She then reached the quarterfinals, marking her third time reaching this stage at the tournament.