Ukraine’s top-ranked player Elina Svitolina advanced to the quarterfinals of Roland Garros 2026 after coming from a set down to defeat Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic. Her next opponent will be fellow Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk, who earlier stunned Iga Swiatek.
According to Suspilne Sport, seventh seed Svitolina lost the opening set but managed to turn the match around and win the next two.
Bencic took the first set 6-4 after converting two break points. Svitolina responded with a 6-4 win in the second set before dominating the decider 6-0.
Roland Garros 2026. Round of 16:
Elina Svitolina (Ukraine, 7) def. Belinda Bencic (Switzerland, 11) — 2-1 (4-6, 6-4, 6-0).
Speaking after the match, Svitolina acknowledged how difficult the encounter had been.
“This match was not easy. We always have big battles with Belinda. I had to stick to my game plan and show my fighting spirit,” Svitolina said in her on-court interview.
The victory was Svitolina’s 10th consecutive win on clay. Prior to Roland Garros, she won the WTA 1000 tournament in Rome.
It marks the sixth time Svitolina has reached the quarterfinals of the French Open, having previously done so in 2015, 2017, 2020, 2023 and 2025.
Overall, it will be her 15th Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance. She will now attempt to reach the Roland Garros semifinals for the first time in her career.
The upcoming match will be historic for Ukrainian tennis. In the quarterfinals, Svitolina will face Marta Kostyuk, who earlier produced a major upset by defeating world No. 3 Iga Swiatek.
It will be only the second all-Ukrainian match in Grand Slam history. The first took place at the 2024 Australian Open, when Marta Kostyuk faced Dayana Yastremska in the quarterfinals.
