Two-time semi-finalist in the Grand Slam Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) was eliminated at the start of the WTA 500 Credit One Charleston Open tournament with a prize pool of 780,637 USD.
The match was Elina Svitolina’s first since March last year and her debut after giving birth to her daughter Skye. The Ukrainian lost in the first round to Yulia Putintseva (Kazakhstan) by 2-1 (7:6, 2:6, 4:6) after two hours and 46 minutes of play.
The former women’s world No 3, currently ranked 1,081, was able to win the first set after a tiebreak but suffered a turnover.
Putintseva will face in the second round the 7th-seeded Russian player Ekaterina Alexandrova.
“Physically, it wasn’t easy at all”, said the 28-year-old Elina Svitolina. “I think it’s clear that I’m not in the best form, but I’m working in that direction”, added the Ukrainian tennis player.
“It’s good that Elina is back on the court. She is always very positive and an inspiration to me because she is a fighter on the court. I love that type of player. Even more inspiring is that she is now back as a mother. I’m very happy for her”, commented Spanish tennis player Paula Badosa, who is 12th-seeded in Charleston.
Elina Svitolina began preparations for her return to the court on January 2 with her husband Gael Monfils, who was recovering from injury. The tennis player shared that her daughter is currently with her father in Monaco and they see each other via video link.
In other first-round matches in Charleston, the 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens eliminated US qualifier Louisa Chirico by 2-1 (3:6, 6:1, 6:2), facing the 6th-seeded Belarusian player Victoria Azarenka.
The 17-year-old Linda Fruhvirtova (Czech Republic) defeated Jil Teichmann (Switzerland) by 2-1 (6:2, 3:6, 6:2), while Anna Kalinskaya (Russia) dealt with Anhelina Kalinina (Ukraine) by 2-0 (7:6, 6:4) and expects a match with the French Alize Cornet.
The Canadian qualifier Katherine Sebov eliminated the American Lauren Davis by 2-1 (4:6, 6:1, 6:2), while Anna Blinkova (Russia) eliminated the Hungarian tennis player Anna Bondar by 2-0 (7:6, 6:2) and will play against the top-seeded Jessica Pegula (USA).
