Tennis fans believe Elina Svitolina won the ‘coolest’ trophy they have ever seen over the weekend. The Ukrainian won her first title in two years to build the momentum ahead of next week’s Madrid Open.
Svitolina defeated Olga Danilovic 6-4 7-6 to win the WTA 250 Open de Rouen. The 30-year-old breezed through the indoor clay tournament, winning all her matches in straight sets. Along with the £27,000 prize money, Svitolina was handed an enormous trophy which resembled a Roman shield. The large circular trophy features a clock in the centre and a brown outer design.
One Reddit user, u/stoble2244, said: “Coolest trophy I’ve ever seen.”
“May have just seen my favourite trophy design,” commented u/no1keroppi.
Another, u/cmpunk121, quipped: “Is she preparing to fight the Romans?”
It turns out that the trophy is based on Rouen’s Norman roots. The clock is the same as the 14th-century timepiece, known as Gros Horloge, which sits in the city centre. Other features of the design are references to the Norman period.
Top-seed Svitolina defeated third-seed Danilovic in just under two hours. It was her first title since she won in Strasbourg in 2023, only two months after returning to the tour following maternity leave.
The 30-year-old’s only final since then was the Auckland Open in 2024, when she was beaten by Coco Gauff. However, Svitolina has increased her confidence by winning in Rouen and is keen to build on the momentum.
“I feel very good, it was a good tournament for me,” Svitolina said. “Not an easy final, but very happy I could win all my matches in two sets and play good matches. I’m happy with the start of the season.
“I feel confident about my game, I trust my game. The way it was from the beginning of the tournament, some players played really well, but I stayed calm and kept fighting.
“I had great matches. I feel good with my footwork, with my body. I feel like I’m ready for the clay court season. There couldn’t be a better start of the clay court season.”
Svitolina, the world No. 8, reached the quarter-final of the Australian Open earlier this year. She will hope to reach the latter rounds of the French Open and Wimbledon over the summer, having never won a Grand Slam.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk