ROME/WASHINGTON, May 18, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)
Every title that Elina Svitolina has won during her tennis career – and she’s won a total of 20 WTA singles crowns since turning professional in 2010 following a successful junior career, which included winning the junior girls’ singles title at the 2010 French Open – has told a story.
The latest title triumph for the 31-year-old from Odessa, Ukraine, who is married to 39-year-old French tennis star Gaël Monfils and is the mother of a 3-year-old daughter, Skaï, came at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome Saturday evening.
As it happened, Svitolina won her third Italian Open title – first time winning it in Rome as a mother – and she showed why she’s playing some of the best tennis of her life. The World No. 10 Svitolina defeated 22-year-old World No. 4 Coco Gauff of the United States, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-2, in two hours and 49 minutes on Campo Centrale at Foro Italico. It was her second WTA Tour title this season following her run to the Auckland title last January.
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“Definitely was an extremely tough battle,” Svitolina said during her champion’s news conference afterward. “I’m very happy with the way I could handle my nerves, not only today but also throughout this tournament.
“I think the two weeks, it’s been tough, but I’m very happy with the way I’ve been playing, the way my body been reacting on these tough matches.
“Yeah, just very proud of the effort.”
En route to winning the latest of her five WTA 1000 titles – including 2017 and 2018 crowns in Rome – in back-to-back-to-back matches last week, the No. 7 seed Svitolina dispatched World No. 2 Elena Rybakina in the quarterfinal round, World No. 3 Iga Swiatek in the semifinals and Gauff in the title match. From first ball to last ball against the American No. 1, she played fearless tennis. It’s no surprise that Svitolina is 8-0 lifetime in clay finals.
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Svitolina was asked by a reporter during her news conference if she considered Saturday’s title in Rome to be the most meaningful one of her career considering all she’s been through since the last Rome crown six years ago, including seeing her home country invaded by Russia and also becoming a first-time mother.
“I had different titles in different period of time,” Svitolina said. “It’s tough to say which one was the toughest. Every title had its own story.
“This one is I think one of the toughest draws that I had in a tournament. The way that I’ve been playing I think is, yeah, I’m very proud of the way that I’ve been handling myself and handling the nerves and being consistent. I think it’s important to throughout the year show good consistency. That’s the way that I’m aiming to be. I’m happy that my season been like this from the beginning of this year.”
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Looking ahead, Svitolina has a few days to rest and recover before the French Open starts on May 24. She will arrive at Roland-Garros ranked World No. 7, moving up three spots in the PIF WTA Rankings following her Rome title run. Last year, she reached the French Open quarterfinals for the fifth time in her pro career while ranked 13th in the world.
Could Svitolina’s latest Roman success translate into a long run in Paris?
“Of course, [winning Rome] gives me a lot of confidence. Gives me a good look at Roland-Garros. But still, I want to put my head down and to really work, prepare from the first round,” she said.
“There are really tough players. You cannot underestimate. You need to be ready for the first-round matches, big battles. Everybody there to beat you. They have nothing to lose, so you have to expect tough matches.
“For me it’s just taking one match at a time and putting the best effort and giving myself a good chance to compete well.”
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Come Thursday afternoon, when the Roland-Garros women’s main draw is revealed, Svitolina will know what’s ahead for her. At the same time, her famous husband will be gearing up for his French Open farewell. The 222nd-ranked Monfils announced earlier this year that he plans to retire from pro tennis at the end of the 2026 season. He received a wild card entry into his last French Open men’s singles draw.
“I spoke with him actually before the [trophy] ceremony,” Svitolina said. “He was just very happy, very proud of the effort. He knows how much it means to me to win here, to win my 20th title. I really wanted to before I finish my career get a round number, for me to get over this hurdle of 20 titles.
“Yeah, I felt like he’s very proud of the effort. He also been watching all the matches this week. After an early loss in Madrid, for sure it was not an easy kind of days for me. He always tells me that you love to play here in Rome, so just go for it. Yeah, I think he’s very proud and happy the way I just handled myself on the court. …
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“We still have a couple of days to relax before the storm of the media and everything what comes with Roland-Garros. It’s going to be very, very busy, but in the same way I think very special for us as a family and of course for him personally because he been playing Roland-Garros for so many years.
“I think for him having a French crowd is something that he always dreamed when he was a little kid to play the big matches, to play together. They carry you through the matches. I think for the past years he experienced something amazing. He always remembers that.
“I think for him will be a lot of nerves, but I think he already settled little bit down with it. Just going to enjoy and give it his best shot, the last one.”
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Before Svitolina and her team, including her coach Andrew Bettles, went to celebrate her Rome title with a colorful photo shoot at the beautifully-lit Trevi Fountain, a famous 18th-century Roman landmark, she was asked if she could have foreseen winning Rome for a third time and returning to the WTA Top 10 after becoming a mother.
“When I was coming back, for me was important just to give myself a good chance to play the highest level,” she said. “I was never thinking about that I could come back. In a way it came later. I think it was by the stages. First, I wanted to be back in Top 100 because I was starting from zero, then it was Top 30 to be seeded.
“Then from last year I started to think, ‘Okay, my level I think is there.’ I need to be more consistent, stronger physically to be more consistent, then I can have a chance to go to Top 10 because I was playing already good level.
“Of course, you need to believe it to make it happen.
“Slowly, little by little, I was believing in it. Of course, very proud of the effort, very proud of also coming back from the surgery. I had a surgery two years ago, which was not easy. First one for me, too. Yeah, I had some ups and downs with little stops here and there. Generally, I’m just very proud of the way that I’ve been coming back and just giving it my everything to perform at the highest level.”
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After Svitolina defeated Swiatek in the semifinals in the early hours of Friday morning, she was asked what it would mean to her to win the Rome title for a third time.
“Yeah, it will mean the world for me,” she admitted. “But I try not to put any kind of pressure on me. I have nothing really to lose.
“Especially like for coming back after giving birth, having all this journey, I would never dream to play in such a high level, beat and challenge top players, have a chance to play in semis and finals. Yeah, just couldn’t dream about a better year.”
