As the US Open heads into the third round, the spotlight isn’t just on the players but also on the coaches who have guided them to this stage. Elina Svitolina, who’s set to face Coco Gauff in less than an hour, is no exception. Fresh off her split with her former coach, the question on everyone’s mind is: who’s now in Svitolina’s corner, strategizing and offering guidance? With so much at stake, the role of her new coach could be pivotal in this high-stakes match.

Svitolina surprised the tennis community last month after she announced her decision to split with her coach, Raemon Sluiter. They shared a remarkable journey together, with Svitolina returning to the top 20 and going deep into some tournaments like Wimbledon 2023, where she reached the semi-finals, under Sluiter’s guidance. But their split was not a result of any disagreements, as confirmed by the Ukrainian player herself.

“It’s just, for me, it was a moment where I want to to see where I am physically and how I want to move forward, also with the tournaments if I want to play maybe a little bit less tournaments, because I want to take care of my fitness,” Svitolina said. However, she could not afford to enter a tournament like the US Open without a coach and she decided to partner with her former coach Andrew Bettles again.

The British coach was seen in Svitolina’s camp during her run at the Canadian Open and has been accompanying her for her matches since then. Svitolina has also entered the US Open with him and would be expecting to achieve significant results, especially because of the camaraderie she shares with Bettles. 

Bettles and Svitolina collaborated previously as well and their partnership lasted for around five years before they decided to part ways in 2021. Taking to her social media platforms back then, the 29-year-old wrote, “I am very thankful for all his hard work and endless support.” Bettles’ partnership with Svitolina spoke volumes during their previous stint, with Svitolina winning 11 WTA titles and one Olympic bronze medal.

Interestingly, Svitolina’s best run at the US Open was also registered during her partnership with Bettles, when she reached Semi-finals in 2019. However, as she gears up for her next match, the Ukrainian recently revealed that she wouldn’t play in as many tournaments as she is currently playing if her rankings didn’t suffer.

When Elina Evitolina revealed her true emotions about consecutive tournaments

Svitolina has played a good number of tournaments this season. The Ukrainian has demonstrated great skills on the courts and has established a place for herself on the WTA circuit. But she revealed that she does not desire to play a lot of tournaments. 

“I would play less if the ranking wouldn’t matter so much, I’d play less, just the tournaments the ones that I really love to go,” Svitolina said, per Tennis Majors. “I’ve been on Tour for so many years, so I know how and where I like to play and I have experience of the scheduling,” she added. Continuing further, she also reflected upon her desire to spend more time with her daughter Skai. 

But she has to go on, as her professional duties will not end anytime soon. It would be interesting to see if Elina Svitolina can add more glory to her name and win her first Grand Slam title at the US Open, especially with the change of mentorship. What do you think?