page_title: Elina Svitolina
section_title: 2018: WTA Finals champion
hierarchical_section_title: Elina Svitolina / Career / 2018: WTA Finals champion
caption_attribution_description: Svitolina RG18 (86)
context_page_description: Elina Mykhailivna Svitolina is a Ukrainian tennis player. Having turned professional in 2010, she reached her career-high ranking of world No. 3 on 11 September 2017, and again on 9 September 2019.
  Svitolina has won 14 WTA singles titles, including the 2018 WTA Finals and three of five Premier 5-level tournaments in 2017: the Dubai Tennis Championships, the Italian Open, and the Canadian Open. At the 2015 French Open she reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal, where she was defeated by former champion Ana Ivanovic. In February 2017, after winning the title in Dubai, Svitolina became the first Ukrainian woman to break into the top-10 rankings. Svitolina would finally reach her first Grand Slam semifinal at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships and followed it up with a second consecutive semifinal at the 2019 US Open.
  Svitolina has scored victories over Grand Slam champions Ana Ivanovic, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Angelique Kerber, Garbiñe Muguruza, Caroline Wozniacki, Simona Halep, Naomi Osaka, Petra Kvitová, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Francesca Schiavone, Flavia Pennetta, Sloane Stephens, and Ashleigh Barty.
context_section_description: Svitolina began her 2018 season by capturing the Brisbane International title, defeating qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the final. She then competed at the Australian Open as the fourth seed. She faced qualifier Ivana Jorović and won in straight sets. Against Kateřina Siniaková, Svitolina prevailed in three sets. She then had two straight-sets wins over qualifier and compatriot Marta Kostyuk and Denisa Allertová to advance to her first Australian Open quarterfinal where she was upset by Belgian Elise Mertens in straight sets.
  Svitolina's 11th career title came after a successful defence of her crown in Dubai, where she brushed aside Daria Kasatkina in the final. After losing to Carla Suárez Navarro in the third round of Indian Wells, she produced her best ever result in Miami, reaching the quarterfinals before falling to eventual runner-up Jeļena Ostapenko in straight sets.
  Rebounding from a second-round loss in Madrid to Suárez Navarro, Svitolina claimed her second straight Italian Open crown, defeating top seed Simona Halep in two sets, in a rematch of the previous year's final. At the French Open, Svitolina posted wins against Ajla Tomljanović and Viktória Kužmová, before being upset in the third round by Mihaela Buzărnescu.
  She began her grass-court season with a run to the quarterfinals of Birmingham, losing again to Buzărnescu. Svitolina was then upset in the first round of Wimbledon by recent Mallorca champion Tatjana Maria.
  She enjoyed moderate success during the US Open Series, reaching the semifinals in Montréal, where she was the defending champion, and the quarterfinals of Cincinnati, losing there to eventual champion Kiki Bertens. She reached the round of 16 at the US Open for the second straight year, losing to Anastasija Sevastova in three sets.
  Svitolina's struggles with form continued into the Asian swing, with back-to-back opening round losses to eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka in Wuhan, and Aleksandra Krunić in Beijing, despite opening up a 6–0, 3–0 lead in the latter match. A quarterfinal defeat in Hong Kong to in-form Wang Qiang, coupled with Svitolina's decision not to play in the final week of the year at either Moscow or Luxembourg City, meant that qualification for the WTA Finals in Singapore would rest on the performances of Karolína Plíšková and Kiki Bertens in Moscow. Plíšková's defeat in the second round ensured that Svitolina would qualify for Singapore for the second successive year.
  As the sixth seed, she was drawn into the White Group, alongside defending champion Caroline Wozniacki, and Czechs Plíšková and Petra Kvitová. She won all three of her round-robin matches, first snapping a seven-match losing streak against Kvitová, defeating her in straight sets. She then defeated both Plíšková and Wozniacki in three sets to secure her place in the semifinals alongside Plíšková. She defeated Kiki Bertens in three sets, and in the final, she came from a set down to beat Sloane Stephens, winning the biggest title of her career. Svitolina ended the year as the world No. 4.
caption: Svitolina at the 2018 French Open
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