Fast and confident: Ukraine's Svitolina advances to fourth round of Roland Garros with class
Elina Svitolina (Photo: Getty Images)
Elina Svitolina, Ukraine’s leading tennis player, continues her confident run at the French Open. In a third-round match, she gave no chance to Germany’s Tamara Korpatsch, according to the match result.
Roland Garros 2026, 3rd round (Round of 32)
Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) – Tamara Korpatsch (Germany) – 6:2, 6:3
First meeting with the German player
This was the first-ever head-to-head between Svitolina (WTA No. 7) and Korpatsch (WTA No. 95) on the professional tour, despite both having solid experience on the circuit.
The 31-year-old Korpatsch has long been seen as an inconsistent mid-tier player, not expected to cause major upsets. However, this year she climbed around 30 ranking positions, returning to the top 100. Reaching the third round in Paris is her best Grand Slam result to date.
Before the match, the Ukrainian was considered a clear favorite — analysts did not expect the German to challenge her, predicting Svitolina’s dominance based on superior class.
How the match unfolded
The opening set was not easy for the Ukrainian. Korpatsch tried to play tactically and initially prevented Svitolina from taking full control.
Svitolina needed time to adjust, waiting for errors and finding her rhythm. The turning point came at 2:2, when she won four consecutive games and closed the set comfortably 6:2.
In the second set, Svitolina trailed 0:2 at the start but quickly staged a comeback to lead 5:2. That surge proved decisive, and she closed the set 6:3.
The match lasted 1 hour and 32 minutes.
What’s next
With this win, Svitolina became the second Ukrainian player to reach the Round of 16 at this year’s Roland Garros (after Marta Kostyuk).
She is now one step away from her best-ever Paris result — the quarterfinals, which she has reached five times in her career.
In the next round, she will face the winner of Peyton Stearns vs Belinda Bencic. Stearns previously eliminated another Ukrainian player, Daria Snigur, in Paris, while Bencic is the reigning Olympic champion.
