Elina Svitolina gave fans an insight into how the start of her Sunshine Swing has not gone according to plan, with a number of mini crises, including missing luggage and jet lag. The Ukrainian has arrived in California to compete at the BNP Paribas Open.
Elina Svitolina Shares Post About Rough Start to Indian Wells Journey
Svitolina has enjoyed a strong start to her season on the tennis court, with two final appearances and one title to her name. With the next WTA 1000 event on the horizon, the Former no. 3 has landed in California for the BNP Paribas Open. But it appears that the start to her trip has been full of off-court hurdles.
The 31-year-old shared a selfie on her Instagram story, detailing the issues she has faced since her arrival in Indian Wells.
“How’s your trip so far,” Svitolina wrote on her Instagram story. “No luggage. No clothes. No rackets. Jet lag. Doping test at 6 am,” she added.
Svitolina will hope to be in contention to win the 2026 BNP Paribas Open. She will be seeded ninth in Indian Wells and goes into the tournament on the back of a run to the final at the Dubai Tennis Championships, where she claimed wins over Coco Gauff and Belinda Bencic.
Despite her recent off-court issues, Svitolina will have plenty of reasons to be confident going into her BNP Paribas Open campaign. The World No. 9 has enjoyed a strong start to the season and already has one title to her name.
Svitolina won the ASB Classic in January before making the Australian Open semifinals, where she defeated Gauff and Mirra Andreeva before losing to Aryna Sabalenka. She then suffered a shock early exit in Doha, before finding her form and making the final in Dubai. Going into Indian Wells, Svitolina’s win-loss record in 2026 stands at 15-3.
The stats back up Svitolina’s impressive results so far in 2026. Her serve has been solid, with 68 aces and a service game win percentage of 73.9%. Svitolina’s return numbers also make for impressive reading, with a break point conversion rate of 57%. In addition, she has won 46.1% of her points on return, an impressive feat.
While Svitolina has yet to win a WTA 1000 event in the United States, she goes into the Sunshine Swing in excellent form. She will have her sights set on improving on her semifinal appearances at Indian Wells and Miami.
