ITF

12 Summer 2021 ITF World When Elina Svitolina is asked which Olympic sport she would most likely participate in were she not a tennis player, some form of track and field event is a clear early pacesetter before boxing is mooted. After some deliberation, track and field wins out by virtue of her being a strong runner, but also an admiration for pole vaulter Sergey Bubka, someone the 26-year-old has designs on emulating at Tokyo 2020. Bubka represented the Soviet Union until its dissolution in 1991 and Ukraine thereafter, winning gold at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul and sealing a host of other medals, titles and accolades during an illustrious career. While Ukraine have had Olympic gold medallists since – 37 to be precise – tennis remains uncharted territory, with the baton now passing to Svitolina and others at the rescheduled Games. Bubka retired when Svitolina was just six years old but his legend and aura live on, and world No. 6 Svitolina is under no illusions what following in his footsteps and standing upon, perhaps topping, the Olympic podium would mean. "I always loved watching different Olympic sports like ice skating and track and field and, for Ukraine, we have lots of strong athletes like Sergey Bubka," Svitolina told ITFWorld. "Sergey achieved so much in his career; he had so many records and that's unbelievable. For sure, he is really significant for our country. I remember he was a hero and he still is. "He won Olympic gold and that's the goal for me, to get an Olympic medal. I will do my best to prepare well and be ready. We play many tournaments throughout the year so in tennis it is a little bit different but, for my country, the Olympics is a big thing. "The country is really supportive when athletes are competing. The Olympics are very special for Ukraine and I will do my best to prepare and get that medal." Svitolina is no Olympic novice and competed at the 2016 Games in the shadow of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro where she reached the quarter-finals before losing to Czech Republic's Petra Kvitova But that was not the full story. In the third round, Svitolina, who was aged just 21 at the time and ranked No. 20 in the world, produced a major shock by dispatching Olympic royalty, defending champion and world No. 1 Serena Williams. It was a seminal moment for the young Ukrainian, who up until that point had lost 22 of her 27 matches against top 10 opposition, with a strong case to be made that much of her success since can be traced to that momentous victory. BEATING SERENA CHANGED With the Olympic Games only days away, medal hopeful Elina Svitolina recalls her breakthrough moment in Rio, talks Ukrainian pole vault greats and considers the power of borsch everything Right Svitolina stunned Serena Williams at Rio 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES

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