Silicon Valley Classic In Full Swing At San Jose State

SAN JOSE, CA — Elina Svitolina is hoping to put the semi-final jinx behind her.

While she is seeded No. 1 in the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic that started July 29, she is coming off a loss in the semifinals at Wimbledon to eventual champion Simona Halep. Svitolina last played the Bay Area tournament in 2015 where she lost in the semis to Angelique Kerber, who went on to win the event.

Svitolina does have several finals on her resume, having won 13 WTA singles titles. She is currently ranked No. 7 in the world; No. 3 is the highest she has reached.

At a press conference Monday at the San Jose State University tournament site, Svitolina said of her recent knee injury, “It’s about adjustments. Tennis is always like this.” She added tennis requires constant adjusting – whether it’s to the playing surface, opponent, conditions or something more personal.

The Ukrainian added that the hardest thing to adjust to recently is having to deal with the injury, in particular having to rest.

Even so, Svitolina said, “The goal, though, is to always win the tournament. This draw is quite difficult.”

No. 3 seed Elise Mertens said she has good memories from last year of this tournament where she lost in the semis to Mihaela Buzarnescu. She was able to return home to Belgium after Wimbledon to prep for the hardcourt season. However, most of that play was indoors. Mertens explained how the hot weather – it was more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit when she was home – necessitated playing indoors.

The top four seeds received a bye for the July 29-Aug. 4 tournament. The others are No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and No. 4 Amanda Anismova of the United States.

The other U.S. players in the tournament are Venus Williams, CoCo Vandeweghe, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Kristie Ahn, Danielle Collins, and Madison Brengle.

Williams is vying for her third Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic title. It was in 1994 at this tournament that she made her professional debut at age 14. This is the 16th time the seven-time Grand Slam champion and former No. 1 has played in the tournament.

More information about the tournament, including draws, tickets, player profiles and more is available online.