Elena Rybakina, seeded fourth, advances to Roland Garros quarterfinals after defeating Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-3 in 69 minutes. Next, she faces Jasmine Paolini, seeded twelfth, who reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal with a 4-6, 6-0, 6-1 win over Elina Avanesyan.
Rybakina, who reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at Roland Garros in 2021, has now advanced to her fifth major tournament quarterfinal. This marks her first such achievement since Wimbledon last year. She remains undefeated in the current tournament, not dropping a single set. This success places her at the top with nine quarterfinal appearances in the 2024 tour. Rybakina has secured three Hologic WTA Tour titles this season (Brisbane, Abu Dhabi, and Stuttgart) and boasts an impressive record of 34 wins and 5 losses overall.
The latest match between the two players was at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics bronze medal play-off, where Svitolina narrowly won with a score of 1-6, 7-6(5), 6-4. They also met in the 2020 Strasbourg final, which Svitolina won 6-4, 1-6, 6-2. However, Rybakina had previously beaten Svitolina at Eastbourne 2021, resulting in a tied head-to-head record of two wins each.
Both players followed similar paths: Rybakina took an early lead, Svitolina caught up, but Rybakina surged ahead again to clinch the victory. Rybakina’s strong groundstrokes and powerful serve were crucial to her win, as she hit 26 winners, including five aces.
However, her diverse playing style allowed her to elevate her performance when necessary. In the beginning, Rybakina frequently used drop shots to challenge Svitolina’s movement, which proved successful.
In the second set, the former Wimbledon champion capitalized on her advantage at the net, winning 12 out of 18 points overall.
Rybakina initially gained an advantage by breaking Svitolina’s serve in the first game but faced several unforced errors that caused her lead to slip. However, she bounced back by breaking Svitolina again with a powerful backhand winner to go up 3-2 and defended the only other break point she faced in that set with a similar display of skill.
In the second set, Rybakina took control early with a double break, leading 4-1. Despite Svitolina’s impressive shots, including a remarkable backhand pass that earned her one break back, she couldn’t narrow Rybakina’s lead any further.
