The next opponent of the Ukrainian will be the second racket of the world, Belarusian Arina Sabalenka.
The first racket of Ukraine Elina Svitolina made it to the 1/8 finals of the WTA 1000 tournament in Italian Rome.
In the third round match, the 29-year-old native of Odessa defeated the Russian woman Anna Kalinskaya, who, due to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, was allowed to compete only in a neutral status.
The fight lasted an hour and 14 minutes. The Ukrainian tennis player was stronger in both sets – 6:3, 6:3.
In the 1/8 finals, Svitolina will play against another “neutral” tennis player – the second racket of the world, Belarusian Arina Sabalenka, who beat Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska – 6:4, 6:2.
Svitolina is the only Ukrainian who reached the 1/8 finals of the tournament in Rome. In the third round, another of our compatriots, Angelina Kalinina, finished her performances, losing to Maria Sakkari from Greece (6:7, 0:6).
Note that the tournament in Rome will be the last competition before the second Grandslam in 2024 – Roland Garros, where five Ukrainian tennis players were included in the main draw.