Svitolina and three other Ukrainians reach main draw of Australian Open-2024
Elina Svitolina has never played in a major final (Getty Images)
Four Ukrainian tennis players, led by Elina Svitolina, will kick off the first round of the 2024 Australian Open, according to Live Tennis.
The first major of the new season is set to commence on January 14. At the Melbourne courts, a minimum of four Ukrainian women will compete in the main draw.
Organizers have extended invitations to all Ukrainian representatives within the top 100 of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) rankings. Alongside the national top-seed Svitolina, Anhelina Kalinina, Marta Kostiuk, and Lesia Tsurenko will also be vying in the Grand Slam's 1/64 finals.
Svitolina, the strongest Ukrainian tennis player in history, reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open twice before in 2018 and 2019. In contrast, Kalinina reached the third round this year, while Kostiuk exited in this stage three times (2018, 2022, 2023). Finally, Tsurenko played in the third round a decade ago.
The record for the most victories at the Australian Open remains with American Serena Williams (7 times). However, this year in Melbourne, Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka triumphed, defeating Elena Rybakina from Kazakhstan in the final.
