The top-ranked Ukrainian sails into Round 3
©Philippe Montigny / FFTOne year removed from reaching the quarter-finals in her first Grand Slam as a mother, Elina Svitolina returns to Paris with hopes for an encore – and maybe more.
The 19th-ranked Ukrainian took a step in that direction on Thursday, dashing past Parisian Diane Parry 6-4, 7-6(3) to reach the third round at Roland-Garros for the ninth consecutive time.
Svitolina and Parry clashed last week in Strasbourg, with the Ukrainian coming through in straight sets 6-3, 6-4, a loss that sent Parry to Roland-Garros without a single tour-level win on her favourite surface. The talented 21-year-old - one of three top-100 players on the WTA Tour to employ a single-handed backhand - suffered a thigh injury that forced her to retire against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in Rouen, then missed a few weeks while recovering.
Parry returned to the tour in mid-May and proceeded to lose a first-round match in Rome before bowing out to Svitolina in Strasbourg.
“I'm happy to be able to play her again straight away,” Parry said after her first-round win over compatriot Fiona Ferro. “I have her game in mind and I hope to propose a better level to try to win in the end.”
Svitolina, who angled past Karolina Pliskova 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 on Monday to remain perfect in first-round matches at Roland-Garros (11-0), had other ideas, however. The former world No.3 weathered a late rally from the 63rd-ranked Frenchwoman and finished off her hard-earned victory with a flourish in one hour and 52 minutes.
No.15 seed Svitolina will face either Ana Bogdan or 2021 runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the third round.
Svitolina looked to be headed to an easy victory, leading by a set and a double-break at 6-4, 4-1, but quickly found herself in trouble as Parry ramped up her intensity and raked in five of the next six games to take a 6-5 lead in the second set.
“She started to strike the ball really big, and with good placement as well – she had nothing to lose,” Svitolina said on court. “All the credit to her, she really stepped up the game and I am sure we are going to see more of her in the coming years in Paris.”
Unfazed by the change in momentum, Svitolina held serve and put the cherry on top of her 28th career Roland-Garros victory by winning 11 of the final 14 points.
According to the WTA, Svitolina is the first woman to make nine consecutive third-round appearances at Roland-Garros since Maria Sharapova (13 - 2004-2018) and Sam Stosur (10 - 2009-2018).
29-year-old Svitolina converted four of 14 break points and dominated the short points (rallies of four or fewer strokes) in the contest, winning 54 and losing 36.
Parry didn’t manage to take a set, but she had her moments. She was lethal off the forehand wing at times, hitting 19 winners against just 10 for Svitolina, and she dominated the net, winning 18 of 22 forays inside her service line.
Parry has dropped nine consecutive matches against top-20 ranked opponents since she upset defending champion and then-world No.2 Barbora Krejcikova on Court Philippe-Chatrier in the first round in Paris in 2022.
Seventeen-time WTA title winner Svitolina improved to 91-40 overall at the majors with her win.
ROLAND-GARROS
19 May - 8 June 2025
