(Provided by Tennis World USA)
Former world No 3 Elina Svitolina has taken a main draw wildcard into Birmingham, which is starting on June 19th. Svitolina, 28, is set to make her fifth appearance on the grass courts of Birmingham. Svitolina made her debut at a WTA 250 event in Birmingham in 2013, when she was beaten by Marina Erakovic in the first round.
Svitolina also picked up a Birmingham first-round exit in 2016, before clinching her first win at the tournament in 2017 and making the round-of-16. In 2018, Svitolina achieved her best Birmingham result as she made the quarterfinal before losing to Mihaela Buzarnescu.
Svitolina’s last Birmingham appearance came in 2019, when she was surprisingly beaten by Margarita Betova in the first round.
Svitolina to play Birmingham leading up to Wimbledon
Svitolina, who was out for 13 months before returning to action in April, is ramping up her comeback.
A week ago, Svitolina won her first title as a mother in Strasbourg. “Right now I’m just gaining points and coming back to the level, coming back to the tour. So everything is kind of old and new for me right now. Just want to enjoy each opportunity at each tournament that I get.
Just play good tennis. Try to enjoy out there, and then, you know, see how it goes,” Svitolina said a couple of days ago. By winning Strasbourg, Svitolina proved she still has the game and the ability to compete at the highest levels.
“I feel like I’m as strong as I was before, maybe even stronger, because I feel that I can handle the work that I do off the court, and match by match I’m getting better. The puzzles are getting slowly into place. We can see the result, that I’m playing well, and most importantly I’m happy with the level that I show right now.
That’s what I want to build on,” Svitolina said. It remains to be seen if Svitolina can do well at Birmingham and be a Wimbledon title contender.
