Svitolina announces split with coach Raemon Sluiter

Elina Svitolina announced Friday that she and her coach of more than a year, Raemon Sluiter, have ended their working relationship. The former World No.4 posted the news on her Instagram stories.

“I just wanted to let you all know that Raemon Sluiter and I have decided to end our working relationship,” Svitolina wrote. “We have had a great run and Ray has helped me become a better player, in my opinion he is one of the best out there on either tour and I will always be grateful of what we achieved together through his and our hard work and efforts.”

Sluiter had previously coached his compatriot Kiki Bertens, turning her into a Top 10 player before her 2021 retirement, and linked up with Svitolina as she prepared to make her return to the Hologic WTA Tour in the spring of 2023. In their short coach-player relationship, Svitolina returned to the Top 30 in the PIF WTA Rankings, reached the quarterfinals of Roland Garros in 2023 in her first Grand Slam tournament as a mother, and the semifinals of Wimbledon that same year — where she beat World No.1 Iga Swiatek along the way.

“I will update you all when I decide on my next moves regarding a coach,” Svitolina wrote, “but for now I just want to thank Ray again and wish him all the best!”

For her efforts last year, Svitolina was named the WTA Comeback Player of the Year in 2023, and Sluiter was also a finalist for Coach of the Year, losing to Swiatek’s coach Tomasz Witkowski.

Svitolina has reached the second week of all three Grand Slam tournaments played in 2024, though her season has at times been interrupted by the back injury that forced her to retire at the Australian Open. She is currently ranked No.30 after another Wimbledon quarterfinal appearance, where she lost to former champion Elena Rybakina, and also lost to Rybakina in the fourth round in Paris.

Ukraine’s top-ranked player, Svitolina will lead her country’s efforts at the Paris Olympics, which begins in a week. Svitolina was a bronze medalist in Tokyo, one of 19 medalists for the country at the last Olympics, and six Ukrainian women will compete on the team. She will be joined by Anhelina Kalinina, Marta Kostyuk, Dayana Yastremska, and doubles specialists Lyudmyla and Nadiia Kichenok.