Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina defeated Hungary’s Anna Bondar in the first round of the 2026 French Open Roland Garros. The match ended in three sets, with the winner decided in a tiebreak.
Suspilne Sport reported this.
Svitolina, who was seeded seventh at the tournament, faced Anna Bondar, to whom she had previously lost two matches — at the 2025 US Open and at this year’s Madrid tournament.
The first set ended in favor of the Hungarian player, 6:3. In the second set, Svitolina allowed her opponent to win only one game and leveled the match in sets.
In the deciding set, the Ukrainian led 5:3 but failed to serve out the match. The outcome was decided in a tiebreak, where Svitolina won 10:3.
The match ended 2:1 — 3:6, 6:1, 7:6(3).
For Svitolina, this marks her 13th time reaching the second round at Roland Garros. Her best result at the tournament remains five quarterfinal appearances.
Marta Kostyuk, Yulia Starodubtseva and Daria Snigur also advanced to the second round of Roland Garros-2026.
Background: Anna Bondar is known for participating in the exhibition tournament “Northern Palmyra Trophies” in St. Petersburg in December 2022. The event was financed by Russia’s Gazprom, and the Hungarian player did not decline the invitation. Because of this, Ukrainian tennis players, including Oleksandra Oliynykova, previously refused to shake Bondar’s hand or pose for joint photos.
