Svitolina Eyes French Open With Calm Focus After Beating Gauff, Swiatek, Rybakina
Rome champion Elina Svitolina says she’s focused on her performance rather than winning the French Open. The world No. 7 opens against Anna Bondar on Sunday.
French Open contender Svitolina downplays title chances after Rome triumph...
Elina Svitolina enters the French Open as one of the players to watch after winning in Rome. The Ukrainian downplayed her chances of lifting the title, saying a calmer mindset and focus on her own performance matter more than chasing a long-awaited first Grand Slam.
The 31-year-old beat defending Roland Garros champion Coco Gauff in the Italian Open final last week. She reached that stage after hard-fought wins over world No. 2 Elena Rybakina and world No. 3 Iga Swiatek.
Svitolina won her biggest title since returning from maternity leave in 2022 after the birth of her daughter with fellow player Gael Monfils. Despite being ranked seventh in the world, she said she would not put pressure on herself heading into the Grand Slam, which starts on Sunday.
“It’s all about trying to focus on my game, my performance, not going too far with the thoughts about if I can win the title or not,” said Svitolina, who opens her campaign against Hungary’s Anna Bondar. She made the comments to reporters on Saturday.
“There are still lots of matches to win to get that title, and you need to be fit and mentally ready.
“There's still a lot of work ahead. It's just important to focus on the first round, one match at a time, and be ready for anything that comes my way.”
Svitolina has reached at least the quarter-finals at every Grand Slam except Roland Garros, and she said she feels at peace with how her career has unfolded.
An emotional moment as Elina Svitolina teared up while Gaël Monfils spoke before his final French Open 🥹 pic.twitter.com/QcIQP061n0
— TNT Sports (@tntsports) May 22, 2026
“It's also fine, in a way, because if you're not okay with that, I think you can just eat yourself from the inside and all the time not be happy about what you do on the court.
“I think my career, even if I finish tomorrow, is okay. And if something happens, I'll be fine with that, and I'll still be a happy person and live my life good.
“So I just want to have this mentality now, because I think when you're younger, of course, you want to win a slam, this is the goal, number one, and you're so upset and you can really damage yourself mentally if you don't succeed.
“I still believe I can win a Grand Slam, but I'm also fine if it's not going to happen or if it's not on the cards for me.”
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