Svitolina Closes on Top 10 After WTA Taiwan Open Title

Top-seeded Elina Svitolina won her fifth career WTA title on Sunday when she defeated unseeded Peng Shuai 6-3, 6-2 in the final of the Taiwan Open.
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“I was playing very well, and stayed solid mentally and physically,” she said. “That’s a positive. I came here to Taipei trying to improve my game, to push myself and see what I could do. This week, then, was very positive.”

On the precipice of cracking the Top 10 for the first time, Svitolina sat at a career-high No. 13 entering the event. She lost her only previous meeting with Peng three years ago.

“I changed a lot,” she said of her game and fitness. “I improved my serve, return, and baseline game. The difference came down more to me than her, because I played more solid today.”

Svitolina found herself down a break early in both sets.

“I’m No. 13 in the world, so you expect players higher in the rankings to be able to raise their level in tight situations,” she said. “It happened today at a good moment, and I think I was trying to find this in myself.”

Svitolina improved to 5-2 in career finals, finishing 1-2 in finals last year. Peng fell to 1-7 in career finals.