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Five Years Later, Ukrainian Tennis Star Elina Svitolina Makes Her Return to the WTA Top 10
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Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina has returned to the world’s top 10 for the first time in five years, according to the latest Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) ranking.
Svitolina is now ranked 10th, having last appeared in the top 10 in 2021.
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According to Suspilne Sport, before dropping out of the top 10, Svitolina had spent four consecutive years among the world’s best players. During that period, she ranked as high as No. 3 globally in 2017, 2018, and 2019.
Her comeback is especially notable given a year-long break from competition in 2022–2023 due to pregnancy and the birth of her child. When she returned to the tour in April 2023, Svitolina was ranked 1,344th in the world.
At the top of the WTA rankings, “neutral” Belarusian player Aryna Sabalenka remains No. 1. Poland’s Iga Świątek holds second place, while Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina, the 2026 Australian Open champion, is ranked third.
Ukraine is also represented strongly elsewhere in the rankings. Marta Kostyuk sits at No. 23, Dayana Yastremska at No. 43, and Oleksandra Oliynykova at No. 91, giving Ukraine four players inside the WTA top 100.
Svitolina’s return to the WTA top 10 was driven in large part by her standout performance at the Australian Open, where she reached the semifinals for the first time in her career. In the quarterfinals on January 27 in Melbourne, the Ukrainian defeated world No. 3 Coco Gauff in straight sets, sealing the match in just under an hour.
Seeded 12th at the tournament, Svitolina won 6–1, 6–2, leveling their head-to-head record after previously trailing the American. She took control early by breaking Gauff’s serve three times in the opening set and added two more breaks in the second, maintaining constant pressure throughout the match.
Svitolina finished with four aces and 16 unforced errors, while Gauff struggled to find rhythm, committing 23 unforced errors. Despite attempting to adjust her racket string tension mid-match, the American was unable to change the course of the contest.
Earlier, Ukrainian heavyweight Oleksandr Usyk was named the author of the best knockout of 2025 by the World Boxing Council (WBC).
In its statement, the WBC said the honor was awarded following Usyk’s rematch with British boxer Daniel Dubois, in which the Ukrainian secured a knockout victory in the fifth round.
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