French Open 2024: Elina Svitolina vs Karolina Pliskova; Preview, Head-to-Head, and Prediction

It’s time for the clash between the two former Top 10s in the first round of the 2024 French Open at the Court Suzanne Lenglen. The former world number 3, Elina Svitolina, takes on the former number 1, Karolina Pliskova in a nail-biting clash on the Parisian red soil. Both the players have struggled a bit this season. But who do you think has the edge in this exciting match?

Before we jump into any predictions for this match, let’s first look at their performance in the 2024 season. Elina Svitolina started the season on a high note by reaching the finals of the ASB Classic. However, after that, she looked a bit shaky. It will be interesting to see if she can really shake off all the rust and get to a winning star in Paris. Karolina Pliskova has already won a title this year and reached the SF in another tournament in the 2024 season. However, she looked pretty ordinary in the rest of the tournaments. So, now it’s time to get back to the glorious days, but who’ll take the first step here in the French capital?

Elina Svitolina vs Karolina Pliskova: Preview

Elina Svitolina was defeated by France’s Clara Burel in her previous match. Burel defeated the Ukrainian tennis star by 7-6(1),4-6,6-1 in the R16 of the Internationaux de Strasbourg. Svitolina failed to hit even a single ace in that match but committed five double faults. Her first serve win percentage was 52% but it crept to 63% on the second serve. Elina Svitolina converted five of her thirteen breakpoints against Burel.

The 29-year-old Ukrainian has hit a total of 62 aces and committed 47 double faults this season. She has won 68.1% of her service games and 40% of her return games. Elina Svitolina needs to improve her numbers a bit to stand a chance against the Czech tennis star in the first round of the French Open.

On the other hand, Karolina Pliskova has also faced defeat at the hands of the same opponent at the Internationaux de Strasbourg. But it was in the R32! Pliskova suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of Clara Burel in her first match in Strasbourg this year. Burel defeated her by 7-5,0-6,6-1 and the Czech tennis star could only manage to hit two aces in the entire match. But she committed seven double faults against the French tennis player.

Her first serve win percentage was 53%, and it was around 76% on the second serve. She could only convert five of his nineteen breakpoints against Clara Burel. Karolina Pliskova has some quite decent numbers this year. She has fired 175 aces this season and has committed 134 double faults. The Czech tennis star has won 73.5% of her service games and 30.6% of her return games this season (as of now). Numbers are quite good for Pliskova, but who leads the H2H scoreline?

Svitolina vs Pliskova: Head-to-Head

Currently, Karolina Pliskova leads the H2H against Elina Svitolina by a 5-4 margin. They had first met each other in 2011 at the SF of a tournament in Prerov and in that match, Pliskova defeated Svitolina by a 6-4,6-3 margin. Interestingly, Pliskova has won the first five matches of their faceoffs while Svitolina has won their last four meetings. Their last meeting was at the group stages of the WTA Finals in 2019.

In that match, Elina Svitolina defeated Karolina Pliskova by 7-6,6-4. She hit two aces and committed just a single double fault in the entire match. While Karolina Pliskova hit seven aces and committed six double faults. Pliskova’s first serve win percentage was 73% but it dropped to 39% on the second serve. However, it was 62% on both first and second serve for Svitolina. The Ukrainian converted three out of her right breakpoints in that match while the Czech converted two of her four breakpoints. Bringing consistency in the game and grabbing the opportunities will be pretty much crucial in this match. But who has the edge looking at all these numbers?

Prediction: Pliskova to win in a three-set thriller

This match has a higher chance of going deep. Both the players are quite leveled, looking at their current form. Elina Svitolina has a win-loss record of 15-10 this season, while it’s 13-9 for Karolina Pliskova. But Pliskova has reached the SF of the French Open in 2017. Svitolina’s best result in this tournament has been QFs. She has the QF of the French Open four times in her career so far.

Elina Svitolina is a defensive baseliner who can swiftly jump from defense to offense. Her backhand is relatively stronger, especially while hitting down the line and on the run. However, she has struggled a bit against very aggressive players in the past. Karolina Pliskova, on the other hand, is an extremely aggressive player. She loves to bank on her powerful and accurate serves, along with her venomous groundstrokes. Pliskova can hit a high number of aces in a match. But sometimes she has struggled a bit with her movements.

However, if we consider their overall stats and playing style, the Czech looks slightly ahead of the Ukrainians in Paris.