On Thursday, January 8, 2026, top seed Eline Svitolina booked her spot in the quarterfinals of the WTA tournament in Auckland, New Zealand. She defeated wild-card player Katie Boulter by sets of 7-5, 6-4. With windy conditions on center court, both players struggled to perform serve, leading to nine service breaks. Svitolina claimed her third match point.
The WTA tournament in Auckland is one of the major events of the Australian Open, which starts in Melbourne on January 18.
In the third game, Svitolina missed her serve but made a comeback immediately in the ninth. She then went on to win the clutch point again and went on to earn the first set.
Going forward in the fourth game, Svitolina broke Katie in the second set but dropped on serve. Meanwhile, in the sixth and seventh games, both players went into three consecutive breaks, which resulted in Svitolina claiming her second singles win of 2026.
Svitolina finished the 2025 season in September after taking a break due to mental health reasons. Meanwhile, she started her WTA 2026 campaign with a win over Varvara Gracheva in the opening match by 6-3, 6-1.
Crediting her opponent, No. 13-ranked Svitolina said that she won the match over a hard-fought battle against Katie, who was brilliant in her effort.
She said, “Katie is a great fighter, so I was expecting a tough match. She can strike the ball very well, as she did today, and it was not an easy match for us with the wind swirling around.”
Talking about her performance in the post-match interview, Svitolina said the victory has given her a new chance to bring an ace performance ahead in the 2026 season.
“It definitely was very important to me to fight for every point and try to find my way through. I was just pleased with the way I could handle the tough games. My fighting spirit, I would say it’s back. And I would say it’s nice to be refreshed and hungry again, to work hard, to face these tough moments.”
Svitolina is coached by Andrew Bettles and idolized Andre Agassi growing up. Daughter of Mykhaylo and Olena, Svitolina started her tennis career at the age of five. She was married to ATP tennis player Gael Monfils on July 16, 2021, and has a daughter named Skai Monfils, born on October 15, 2022.
Besides her tennis career, she has been actively managing her foundation since 2019 and has been continuously working to expand ‘Elina Svitolina Foundation’.
