Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina in action during the Miami Open last month. (Photo by Robert Prange/Getty … More
Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina won her first title in nearly two years after beating Serbian Olga Danilovic 6-4, 7-6(8) in the Rouen Open final in France on Sunday.
Svitolina, the top seed, needed an hour and 58 minutes to beat third seed Danilovic to lift the trophy at the WTA 250 clay-court tournament.
The last time Svitolina won a title was in Strasbourg in May 2023, less than two months into her comeback from maternity leave.
Her only final since then came at the Auckland Open in January 2024 when she lost a three-set battle to Coco Gauff, the current world No. 4.
Against Danilovic on Sunday, the Ukrainian had to dig deep in the second set, saving two set points down 6-4 in the tiebreak before converting her fourth championship point.
Svitolina, wife of French player Gael Monfils, has played in 22 career WTA finals, losing only four times. She did not lose a set all week.
“I feel very good, it was a good tournament for me,” said Svitolina said after her victory.
“Not an easy final, but very happy I could win all my matches in two sets and play good matches. I’m happy with the start of the season.”
The Rouen Open title is Svitolina’s 18th career title and seventh on clay. With the win, the former World extended her record in WTA singles finals to 18-4.
“I feel confident about my game, I trust my game,” the 30-year-old said.
“The way it was from the beginning of the tournament, some players played really well, but I stayed calm and kept fighting,” Svitolina concluded.
Finalist Danilovic also shared words of praise for champion Svitolina.
“First of all Happy Easter everyone. Second of all, congrats to Elina. Great tournament. Great week. You are a champion. I’m not gonna use any more words for you, because you are amazing,” the 24-year-old Serbian said.
