30 Extraordinary Facts About Elina Svitolina You Might Have Missed Before

Elina Svitolina, the first Ukrainian woman to break into the top-10 rankings, is considered to be one of the best professional tennis players in the world. She is one of the few players, who are capable of “turning defense into offence when given the chance.” Her “deceptively casual” style of playing, with very consistent groundstrokes, and moderate hit power, has led to her typical description as a “counterpuncher.” Famous for her footwork and speed, she possesses good reactions. She became one of the leasers of service points won in the year 2018. Here are some really interesting facts about the tennis player that will make you love her more:

"Elina Svitolina" by Kulitat is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

1.  In the year 2013, she won her first WTA title at the Baku Cup, beating Shahar Pe’er, becoming the first teenager to win a WTA tournament since February 2012.
2.  During the 2015 season, she rose to No. 17, surpassing Alona Bondarenko, as the highest-ranked Ukrainian woman in the Open Era, including women from Ukraine who played under the Soviet Union.
3.  Svitolina scored one of the biggest victories of her career, coming from a break down in the third set to defeat former WTA number one, Caroline Wozniacki, in three sets in the third round.
4.  She defeated Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets in the final to capture her first title at Premier 5-level in Dubai, during the 2017 season.
5.  The victory propelled her into the WTA top 10 for the first time, making her the first Ukrainian ever to have achieved such a feat in history.
6.  Elina Mykhailivna Svitolina was born on September 12, 1994, to Mikhaylo Svitolin and Olena Svitolina in Odesa. She has an older brother Yulian Svitolin.
7.  Her father was a former wrestler, while her mother was a former competitive rower. Her brother was also a tennis player. Both her parents are Ukrainians.
8.  Elina was inspired to take up tennis, after seeing that her brother got a lot of attention for playing tennis. She started to play at the age of 5, in an effort to regain some of her father’s attention.
9.  Her parents named her after the famous Ukrainian actress Elina Bystritska, who is considered to be one of the most prominent actresses in the Soviet and Russian Film Industry.
10.  She, along with her family moved to Kharkiv, Ukraine, at the age of 13, when businessman Yuriy Sapronov became her sponsor.

"Elina Svitolina" by Kulitat is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

11.  He watched her play at one of the children’s tournaments, at the age 12, and was very much impressed with her performance, which led to him investing in training her for professional development.
12.  Still today, she officially resides in Kharkiv, but she trains abroad, due to which her presence in Odesa and Kharkiv. She also owns a residence in London.
13.  She has often claimed in interviews that in the initial days of her career, she has received plenty of offers, to change her citizenship in exchange of “large financial sums,” which she always turned down.
14.  As a junior, Svitolina's greatest achievement was winning the French Open girls event in 2010, beating Tunisian Ons Jabeur in the final.
15.  In May 2010, she reached her first professional singles final at the $25,000 tournament in Kharkiv.
16.  At the 2012 Wimbledon Championships, she reached the final of the girls' singles event, where she lost to Eugenie Bouchard. At the US Open, she was defeated in the first round by 12th seed and eventual quarterfinalist Ana Ivanovic.
17.  She won the WTA 125K Royal Indian Open title in Pune, defeating Andreja Klepač, Rutuja Bhosale, Luksika Kumkhum, former top 10 player Andrea Petkovic, and Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm in the final.
18.  In the year 2014, she defeated two-time Grand Slam champion and three-time Australian Open quarterfinalist Svetlana Kuznetsova in the opening round in straight sets at the Australian Open.
19.  Svitolina reached her first Premier-5 semifinal in the first edition of the WTA tournament in Wuhan, defeating Camila Giorgi, Sabine Lisicki, Garbiñe Muguruza.
20.  At the end of the 2015 season, her consistency throughout the year earned her a spot, as the eighth seed at the inaugural WTA Elite Trophy in Zuhai.

"Elina Svitolina" by Christian Mesiano is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

21.  During the Malaysian Open in the 2016, where she won her fourth WTA title defeating Miyu Kato, Risa Ozaki, Kristína Kučová, Zhu Lin and Eugenie Bouchard.
22.  Her final victory against Eugenie Bouchard in a rain-interrupted marathon, helped her maintain her perfect record in WTA finals, improving her ranking to 14.
23.  At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Svitolina scored her first win over the defending champion and then world No. 1 Serena Williams in the third round to reach the quarterfinals, defeating her in straight sets.
24.  Svitolina won her fifth career title at the Taiwan Open, fending off four match points in her quarterfinal encounter with Ons Jabeur, before defeating Peng Shuai in the final.
25.  Since 2016, she has been endorsed by Nike for clothing and shoes. Previously, she was endorsed by Ellesse and Lacoste.
26.  She was in a relationship with ATP tennis player Gaël Monfils, since early 2019. The couple got engaged on April 3, 2021, and got married on July 16, 2021.
27.  After her marriage, she has made it clear that she will not change her surname with the ITF, but she has started using “Elina Monfils” on her social media profiles.
28.  In 2020, defeated Marie Bouzková in the final in three sets, capturing her 14th singles title, and her first since her WTA Finals win more than 16 months ago.
29.  But, with the suspension of the WTA Tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she declined to participate in the US Open, due to safety concerns.
30.  She entered the 2021 US Open as the fifth seed, and reached her second US Open quarterfinal defeating No.12 seed Simona Halep, but was toppled by Leylah Fernandez in the quarterfinals.
31.  Elina Svitolina Net Worth: $12 Million