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Elina Svitolina started her road at the 2023 French Open with a convincing first-round win over Martina Trevisan, which caught the attention of tennis pundits.
Svitolina defeated Trevisan 6-2, 6-2 in a match that lasted just over an hour. The Ukranian returned to professional tennis less than two months ago after a year-long pregnancy break, during which she dropped outside of the top 500 in the WTA rankings.
The former World No. 3 didn't take long to win her first title after the comeback, triumphing in Strasbourg and continuing her hot streak in Paris. In her latest match, she let Trevisan win just four games.
The match was expected to be a more closely fought affair by some. This was due to Trevisan's miracle run at the 2022 French Open, where she unexpectedly reached the semifinals. She was finally stopped by Coco Gauf, who defeated her 6-3, 6-1, to reach the final.
"Wow, bad bad loss for Trevisan. Tennis can be so cruel," podcast host Craig Shapiro wrote on Twitter.
Though the heavy loss of Trevisan was surprising to some, it wasn't for tennis coach, television commentator, and former professional player Rennae Stubbs. She replied to Shapiro's tweet by writing:
"Nah! I would have been shocked if Trevisan had won. Elina is a WAY better player & Trevisan had 1 awesome tournament last year. This is the beauty of pro tennis! To be great u have to be consistent every year! It’s what separates the top 100 & top 10! Elina is a top 10 player."
Elina Svitolina will face Australia's Storm Hunter in the second round of Roland Garros 2023. Hunter defeated Nuria Parrizas-Diaz in the first round.
Elina Svitolina returns to the top 200 with 2023 Internationaux de Strasbourg title
Elina Svitolina didn't have too many problems in Strasbourg, where she won her first title after returning to tennis at the beginning of April.
The 28-year-old defeated Louisa Chirico 6-4, 7-6 in the first round. Erin Routliffe withdrew before the match in the second round, and Varvara Gracheva was her victim in the quarterfinal, 6-3, 6-4.
Elina Svitolina then beat Clara Burel in the semifinal, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3; and Anna Blinkova in the final, 6-2, 6-3.
The win in Strasbourg helped her get back to the top 200, but the win in the first round of the 2023 French Open currently has her in the 150th position in the live WTA rankings.
