No. 1? First Grand Slam? For Svitolina, it's for the taking

For the fifth time this season, Elina Svitolina clutched a winner's trophy. The 22-year-old Ukrainian star ripped through an all-star cast at the Rogers Cup in Toronto to claim her third WTA Premier 5 title of 2017.

Svitolina has been a force in the biggest tournaments outside of majors, emerging as this year’s version of Karolina Pliskova, circa 2016. She’s also in position to take the No. 1 ranking from Pliskova, as soon as next week.

If defending champion Pliskova bows out early at Cincinnati’s Western & Southern Open, Svitolina could storm to the top with another title. She crushed No. 2 Simona Halep in the Toronto semifinals, 6-1, 6-1, this after defeating quarterfinalist Garbine Muguruza earlier that same day. And she’s playing much better tennis than Angelique Kerber, who began the season at No. 1 and could reclaim the top spot herself, depending on results in Cincy.

The biggest question is if Svitolina is ready to deliver in the majors. Her best results have been quarterfinals appearances at the French Open, in 2014 and 2016. She has not made it past the fourth round at the U.S. Open.

Svitolina is mature and well grounded, understanding that each tournament is its own chapter that requires hard work and superlative play against the best in the world.

“It's amazing that I achieved this, but I try to take one tournament at a time, to not think so much about all the past titles," Svitolina said in WTA Tennis. "Of course it brings me confidence, I have the experience from those finals, but I try to take it as a new challenge and always look forward to it."

Svitolina’s defensive play is world class, and she’s elevated her offensive aggressiveness, particularly her go-for-broke forehand when pulled off the court.

She’s also taking success in stride, spending time with fans and becoming an increasingly well-recognized champion. If she lands titles at Cincinnati or New York, the whole sporting world will catch on to her rising star.

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