Svitolina a rising star in women’s tennis
Nineteen-year-old Elina Svitolina reigned supreme after the two-set contest in Baku, a final that saw two of the WTA tour’s rising stars collide. The Ukrainian youngster retained the maiden title she won at this same event in 2013 with a strong showing against Bojana Jovanovski of Serbia.
At the time ranked No. 37 in the world, Svitolina had lost only one set in Baku and was clearly the stronger competitor from the start of the match. She breezed through the first set in a mere 22 minutes. The second set saw no breaks of serve as Jovanovski found some rhythm on serve and forced a tiebreak. Svitolina jumped on the opportunity to take a 4-0 lead in the tiebreak and closed out the match 6-1, 7-6(2).
According to WTATennis.com, Svitolina is the first teenager to win multiple WTA titles since Anastasia Pavluchenkova of Russia.
Svitolina is one of the brightest young stars in women’s tennis today and has secured her position as the WTA’s highest ranked teenager in the world. She made her top-100 debut in February 2013, and hit a ranking of No. 37 after the 2014 Family Circle Cup, where she registered an upset of upcoming American Sloane Stephens. The rest of her 2014 included wins over Roberta Vinci at the Open GDF Suez in Paris and WTA’s 2013 newcomer of the year, Eugenie Bouchard, at the Sony Open in Miami. At the Western and Southern Svitolina recorded the first top-10 victory of her career, defeating Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in the second round. Elina entered 2015 with a new career high ranking of No. 28, which she maintained after reaching the semifinals at the Brisbane International and the third round of the Australian Open.
Svitolina first drew attention when she won the 2010 Roland Garros girls’ event at the young age of 15. At 18 she won her first Baku Cup, making her the first teenager to win a WTA tournament since February 2012. In January 2013 she reached the third round of her first Grand Slam, having defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia.
The young Ukrainian is having fun playing tennis and taking advantage of the opportunities to compete against some of the better professional ladies on the tour. She’s worked diligently to improve her game, has demonstrated an aggressive competitive streak and should continue to improve her ranking further by the end of the current year.
Early in 2014 Svitiolina was announced as the latest ambassador for global sportswear brand Ellesse, whose president, Marco Ellerker, issued the following statement: “Ellesse has a rich heritage in tennis and as we look to the future, we are delighted to be supporting such an exceptional young talent in Elina. Her determination and positive attitude to life embodies everything Ellesse stands for, and, of course, she looks fantastic in our new designs!”
Getting personal: 10 things to know about Elina Svitolina
1. Vital stats: born in Odesa, Ukraine, on September 12, 1994; lives in Kharkiv.
2. Early years: started playing tennis at age 4 due to her brother being a pro player. Her goal was to be better than her brother.
3. Junior success: won Roland Garros girls’ title in 2010 at age 15.
4. Pro Success: won her first ITF event in Kharkiv (2010), then won total of nine ITF tournaments over the next three years; big breakthrough came in 2013 when she won the Baku Cup for her first WTA title.
5. Making history: by winning the Baku Cup, she became the first teenager to win a WTA main tour title since February 2012.
6. Rankings Watch: reached career high rank of No. 28 at end of 2014/ beginning of 2015.
7. Favorites: surface to play on is clay, food is Chinese, musician is Eminem.
8. Idol Worship: favorite players are Andre Agassi and Roger Federer; admires Kim Clijsters’ groundstrokes and Serena Williams’ serve.
9. Off-Court: enjoys movies, reading, going to the beach and wake boarding.
10. Social Savvy: follow Elina on Twitter and on Facebook.
Hawryluk a perfect fit for Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers asked Jayce Hawryluk to keep a secret the weekend of June 27-29, 2014. On Saturday morning of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, the secret was revealed to the rest of the hockey world. On Friday, Panthers General Manager Dale Tallon told the aspiring Ukrainian hockey player that he would be their selection if he was still around come the start of the second round.
“They tell you that, but anything can change. They honored their promise, and it means a lot to me,” said Hawryluk in a draft day interview with the Winnipeg Sun. The half-Ukrainian (from father Terry) led the Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL) with 24 goals and 64 points in 59 games last season. “It was unbelievable. I’ve got a lot of emotions going right now.”
If you got to your seat late Saturday morning (your sports correspondent did), you missed Hawryluk being called to the podium with the second pick of the second round, following Brandan Lemieux, son of Claude Lemieux. A few minutes later when he met the media, one couldn’t have wiped the smile off Hawryluk’s face if one tried.
Hawryluk is a proud Manitoban who was actually born in Yorkton, Saskatoon. He is gifted with superior skills, but also plays a tenacious game, a trait he developed from playing with three older brothers. He should mesh well with new Panthers head coach Gerald Gallant who played with a chip on his shoulder back in the day.
Florida’s scouting director Scott Luce praised Hawryluk’s pre-draft interview as one of the best he’s witnessed in the last 10 years. “He was phenomenal. He knew about our team and he knew that he was a fit. It was great give-and-take,” said Luce in a June 28, 2014, interview with the Winnipeg Sun. “He plays the game the way he lives life. When you have that, it makes it easier for him to be an effective player because he comes by that naturally.”
Jayce needs to work on his skating, but one will never question his desire to improve and do whatever it takes to make the step to the NHL.
“We all know he’s going to put the work in because that is the type of kid he is,” said Luce, very impressed by Hawryluk’s upbeat demeanor. “At the under-18 tournament he really stood out to us as the type of player that has that sandpaper with skill. He was a perfect fit for us.”
Up and down in 2013-2014
The past year was a roller coaster for Hawryluk. He began the season with Team Canada at the Ivan Hlinka Tournament. He played on a rebuilding WHL club, helping Brandon into the playoffs and a first-round upset of the Regina Pats. He experienced shortness of breath and collapsed in the dressing room after a first star performance in game three. Hawryluk spent three days in the hospital, watching his team complete the sweep without him before returning for the second round and a five-game loss to the eventual WHL champions, the Edmonton Oil Kings. He would show no ill effects, scoring in his first game back. He would finish the playoffs with five goals and 12 points in eight games. His busy campaign concluded back with Team Canada where he helped the squad to a bronze medal at the U-18 World Championships.
Scouting report
An undersized forward, he must be a strong skater to make it in the NHL. He has good speed with good acceleration, which complements his grit and agility. His top assets are his core strength and balance – he is hard to knock off the puck, forechecks hard, wins battles along the boards and plays a strong cycle game. He is strong enough to fight through checks, go to the net, battle for pucks in the corners and gain position in the front of the net when battling defenders. Hawryluk doesn’t allow his size (5-foot-10, 190 pounds) to detract from his game.
Ihor Stelmach may be reached at
[email protected]