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Elina Svitolina and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova achieved a historic feat at the 2023 French Open by advancing to the quarterfinals while being ranked outside of the top 150 in the WTA rankings.
Svitolina took on ninth seed Daria Kasatkina in the fourth round of the clay court Major. The Ukrainian started the match off strongly, racing away to a 4-1 lead before claiming the first set. Despite failing to serve out for the win at 5-4 and 6-5 in the second set, Svitolina came through in a tense tiebreak to claim a 6-4, 7-5(5) victory in one hour and 56 minutes.
With her win, the 28-year-old advanced to the quarterfinals at Roland Garros for the fourth time in her career.
Meanwhile, Pavlyuchenkova faced off against Elise Mertens for a spot in the last eight. The Russian had a shaky start to the match, losing the first set 3-6, and falling behind in the second, 1-3. However, she mounted a strong comeback to claim the second set in a tiebreaker before recording a 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-3 win in three hours and nine minutes.
In doing so, the 2021 runner-up advanced to the quarterfinals in Paris for the third time in her career.
World No. 192 Elina Svitolina and World No. 333 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova have made history by reaching the French Open quarterfinals. Their achievement marks the first time since the introduction of the WTA and ATP rankings that two players ranked outside of the top 150 have reached the last eight of a Grand Slam tournament in the women's or men's singles draw.
The World No. 333 is also the lowest-ranked quarterfinalist at the clay court Major in the history of women's tennis.
Only five women with lower ranks have reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament in the Open Era: Martina Hingis (No.349, Australian Open 2006), Kaia Kanepi (No.451, US Open 2017), Kim Clijsters (unranked, US Open 2009), Justine Henin (unranked, Australian Open 2010), and Tsvetana Pironkova (unranked, US Open 2020).
French Open 2023 QF: Elina Svitolina to take on Aryna Sabalenka, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova faces Karolina Muchova
Elina Svitolina will be up against a tough challenge in the quarterfinals of the 2023 French Open as she takes on second seed Aryna Sabalenka. The pair have split the results of their two previous meetings, leaving their head-to-head record at an even 1-1. However, it was Svitolina who emerged victorious in their most recent encounter in the 2020 Strasbourg semifinal.
Sabalenka defeated Sloane Stephens 7-6(5), 6-4 to advance to her first quarterfinal at the clay court Major. The World No. 2 is yet to drop a set in the tournament.
Meanwhile, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova will be up against Karolina Muchova, who defeated Elina Avanesyan 6-4, 6-3, to advance to her first French Open quarterfinal. Pavlyuchenkova leads 2-1 in her head-to-head against Muchova.
