Two more flag bearers have been announced for the Opening Ceremonies’ Parade of Nations of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on Friday. Joining 2023 United States Open Coco Gauff of the United States and Nicolas Jarry of Chile, who were announced earlier this week, are Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina and Montenegro’s Danka Kovinic.
Svitolina is the 31st ranked player in the world, who will have the French crowd behind her over the next week. That is because she is married to two-time grand slam semifinalist Gael Monfils of France. Monfils reached the final four of the 2008 French Open and 2016 United States Open. Svitolina is a three-time grand slam singles semifinalist herself. She reached the final four of the 2019 United States Open, and the semifinals of Wimbledon in 2019 and 2023.
Svitolina is also an Olympic medalist. At the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021, she won the bronze medal where she beat 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, 1-6, 7-6, 6-4, in the bronze medal game.
In the first round of the Olympic women’s tennis tournament, Svitolina will face Moyuka Uchijima of Japan. This will be their first ever head-to-head meeting.
Kovinic was ranked as high as 46th in the world. She achieved that honour in February of 2016. Kovinic has reached three WTA tennis finals. She lost 6-1, 6-2 to 2012 Wimbledon finalist Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland in the final of the 2015 Tianjin Open in China, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 to Cagla Buyukakcay of Turkey in the final of the 2016 Istanbul Cup, and 6-4, 6-2 to Veronika Kudermetova of Russia in the final of the 2021 Charleston Open.
Kovinic will face 2021 French Open and United States Open semifinalist Maria Sakkari of Greece in the first round. Sakkari and Kovinic have beaten each other twice in the past.
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