Henin To Help Rising Svitolina

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

21-year-old Elina Svitolina announced that seven-time Grand Slam champion Justine Henin would join her coaching team on her website.

Svitolina has enjoyed a rapid rise up the rankings in the last two seasons, earning four Top 10 wins – two over reigning Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber – and making her Top 20 debut last spring, following a run to the quarterfinals of the French Open. Looking to make the next step in her career ascent, Svitolina has been after Henin’s expertise since the off-season.

Neither Svitolina nor Henin are the tallest to ever play the game – Svitolina stands at 5’9″ to Henin’s 5’5″ – but the Belgian unleashed a barrage of unbridled aggression combined with an unflappable competitive spirit to finish as the Year-End No.1 three times, win a hat-trick of French Open titles from 2005-2007 (four in total), along with an Olympic Gold Medal in 2004 – recovering from 1-5 in the final set of her semifinal against Anastasia Myskina to dispatch Amélie Mauresmo in the final.

Retiring in 2008, Henin returned to tennis two years later, reaching the Australian Open final in the first major appearance of her comeback, falling to World No.1 Serena Williams in three thrilling sets.

Svitolina already has strong competitive instincts, winning a majority of her three-set matches in 2015, but could certainly benefit from a dose of Henin’s aggressive tactics that may encourage her to step into the court and dictate play more often.

Whatever happens, Henin’s addition to the coaching community has certainly left the tennis world intrigued:

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