Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina He spoke to reporters before the start of the Australian Open 2026:

About planning off-season workouts: “It’s really about finding the balance. I think over the years my coach, my team and I have found a few little tricks to help us get better. I’m very happy to be able to win in Auckland. It’s a good start, a strong start and hopefully I can use that as a foundation for the future.”

About the start of the Australian Open: “The first round of the Grand Slam tournament is of course very difficult, everyone is as ready as possible and extremely motivated to play well. In the first major everyone wants to show what they have been working on in the off-season and that makes the tournament interesting. That’s why we will see a lot of great matches. For me personally it is important to focus on one match at a time, not to look too far ahead, to recover well, to prepare physically and mentally, then I will have the chance to play at a high level.”

On his confident performance in the finals: “I have built this image and this mentality step by step over the years. It is important. Of course there are many matches to win before the final, but the final is very important and this is where you have to show your best performance in tennis. In moments like these you train and work for. So even if I cannot play my best tennis because of a lot of pressure and responsibility, I try to find my way in the most important moments and the little details that will help, at least fight and find a way to win.”

About joint training with her husband Gael Monfils: “I definitely get very intense training because he hits the ball very hard and hard and I have to react extremely quickly. I think it helps my game because now everyone is playing hard, everyone is putting in their shots. And training with him gives me the confidence that I’m ready for other speeds. For my part, I’m teaching him the backhand down the line, I can say that’s my best shot. And now he tells me that’s why his backhand down the line has improved (laughs).

On Gael’s final season on Tour: “The energy the fans give is incredible. He really gets his energy from the spectators who come to watch the games and the training sessions. It gives a lot of joy. Of course there are some concerns because he wants to have a strong season. And I know he can do it, he has trained well. I was surprised how hard he worked on the field and in the gym this off-season. I see that he really wants to end his career on a positive note. And I am happy to be with him. Support him on this great journey and support him no matter what.”

In the first round of the Australian Open, Elina will play against Kristina Buksha. The meeting will begin on January 18 and will begin at approximately 04:30 Kyiv time.

Elina Svitolina (WTA 12) – Kristina Buksha (WTA 51) will meet in the first round of the Australian Open on January 18.

The match will start at 04.30 Kyiv time.

Sport.ua together with a betting partner bet announcing the upcoming fight!

Elina Svitolina

The Ukrainian tennis player decided to start the season with a tournament in Auckland, where there was no strong squad, and Svitolina was also seeded. As a result, the athlete confirmed his status by winning the championship. Although the tennis player gave up only one set during the entire tournament, it cannot be said that it was easy in the match against Sonay Kartal in the quarter-finals, when everything went into a tiebreaker. In the final match, Svitolina defeated China’s Wang Xinyu.

Now the Ukrainian begins his journey in another major in which he has never won, despite having a good career. If Svitolina manages to overcome the Spanish flu, she will face the winner of the Klimovicheva-Jones double.

Kristina Buksha

The Spaniard is less famous than his upcoming rival; He recently turned 28, but he is not remembered for anything significant. Buksha is a strong middle peasant who is already quite a bit in world tennis.

The athlete started the season with a strong tournament in Brisbane, defeating Hungarian Anna Bondar with great difficulty in the first round – 4:6, 7:6, 6:2. And in the second round she could do nothing against Aryna Sabalenka – 0:6, 1:6. In the Australian major, the athlete reached the third round at most, but it will be difficult to win even the first match this year.

Buksha is playing better in doubles and even managed to win a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

To guess

Statistics show that the athletes have not played each other before and the Ukrainian player is the expected favorite in the upcoming match. Elina has a higher status, has a better start to the season and has an advantage in terms of ratings.

Although Buksha is not the last middle peasant, I do not think that the Ukrainians will have problems. Here I will bet Svitolina to win 1.66 with a -4.5 handicap.

Prediction Sport.ua

Elina Svitolina

01/18/2026 –

04:30

Kristina Buksha

Svitolina handicap (-4.5) 1.66 place a bet KRAIL License No. 559 dated 12/05/2024

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On January 18, Dayana Yastremska (WTA 27) and Elena-Gabriela Ruse (WTA 79) will face each other in the first round of the Australian Open.

The match will start at 02.00 Kyiv time.

Sport.ua together with a betting partner bet announcing the upcoming fight!

Dayana Yastremskaya

The Ukrainian is not having a bright start to the season, but if he manages to perform well at the Australian Major, he will be forgotten. In Brisbane, Yastremskaya played relatively well, managed to beat the Australian Gibson and the strong Fernandez from Canada, and lost in a tough fight against the strong American Pegula.

It all ended quickly in Adelaide, losing to the experienced but manageable Czech Siniakova by scores of 0:6, 1:6 in 54 minutes. These kinds of defeats have to be icy cold, there are no opponents you can beat, you have to do your best in every match. Diana has the talent to perform at a high level of tennis and you need to do your best in this tournament. Let me remind you that the Ukrainian athlete showed his best performance in the big league in 2024, when he managed to reach the semi-finals.

Elena-Gabriela Ruse

The Romanian tennis player is known to fans of this sport, although he lacks stars in the sky, as he is considered a good average player. For five years, Ruse has been in the top hundred, although he sometimes leaves.

The athlete, who participated in two tournaments this season, first qualified for the tournament by beating Subasic and Sönmez in Brisbane, but immediately lost to the famous Kenin in the main event in three sets. The scenario was similar in Adelaide; In the qualifying rounds, victories were achieved in three sets against the English Swan and the Czech Sinyakova, followed by victories from the “neutral” Kalinskaya 0:6, 3:6.

personal meetings

In one-on-one matches, the score is 2:0 in favor of the Romanian; Hamburg won three sets on clay in 2021, as well as two sets at the 2023 US Open.

To guess

No matter how pretentious it sounds, a lot will depend on Yastremskaya’s mood; If his game goes well, everything can end in defeat. There may also be an option for the Ukrainian player to bring victory to his opponent.

Nobody wants to be eliminated in the first round; Ukrainian is a little favorite, I agree. Here I propose to bet on Dayana’s net victory of 1.77.

Prediction Sport.ua

Dayana Yastremskaya

01/18/2026 –

02:00

Elena-Gabriela Ruse

Yastremskaya’s victory 1.77 place a bet KRAIL License No. 559 dated 12/05/2024

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