Ukraine's top-ranked player, Elina Svitolina, has begun her campaign at the prestigious WTA 500 tournament in Washington. In her first match following the grass court major, the Ukrainian faced Polina Kudermetova, representing Uzbekistan.
Svitolina received the second seed at the tournament in the USA, allowing her to start her campaign directly from the round of 32. Her opponent, Kudermetova (ranked 108th in the WTA), made it to the main draw through qualifying. In the first round, the Uzbek player sensationally defeated Spain's Cristina Bucsa, the 40th-ranked player in the world.
Head-to-head history and form of the opponents
Until this match, Elina Svitolina and Polina Kudermetova had never played against each other. For the Ukrainian, this was her first return to the court after losing to Daria Snigur in the first round of Wimbledon 2026. Kudermetova, for her part, has managed to defeat a top-50 player for the first time in 13 matches. The last time she beat an opponent of such caliber was in March 2025.
It is worth noting that the victory over Bucsa was Kudermetova's first win under the flag of Uzbekistan. The Russian tennis player officially changed her citizenship only in December 2025.
Chances for a record and the importance of the tournament
Elina Svitolina is the only representative of Ukraine in the main draw of the tournament in Washington. In the event of a victory over the Uzbek player, she will advance to the round of 16, which will allow her to match her personal record on local courts, set in 2023.
The tournament in Washington opens an extensive series of North American hard court competitions ahead of the season's final Grand Slam — the US Open. In August, the tennis players will also face prestigious WTA 1000 tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati, as well as the WTA 500 in Monterrey.
Previously, we reported on the tournament schedule for Ukrainian tennis players for the coming weeks. Follow updates on the website Sport RBC.UA.
