Elina Svitolina shares why her regular coach didn’t travel with her to the WTA Finals

Elina Svitolina won’t be joined by her regular coach, Andrew Bettles, at the WTA Finals in Indian Wells.

Instead, former Ukrainian star Sergiy Stakhovsky will coach Svitolina. Stakhovsky won four ATP titles during his professional career and beat Roger Federer at Wimbledon.

Svitolina will hope Stakhovsky can guide her to a second WTA Finals triumph, following her win in 2018, but why isn’t her coach Bettles traveling to California? During a recent interview with ‘BTU‘, Svitolina explained why.

Elina Svitolina says her coach Andrew Bettles is missing the WTA Finals because his wife is pregnant

“Andy Bettles’ wife is pregnant. Back at Roland Garros, he told me there was a chance she would give birth towards the end of the season, so there was a possibility he wouldn’t be able to be here with me. And that’s exactly what happened, as she’s due to give birth this week,” she said.

“So, back in the summer, I started thinking about who could step in. Sergiy [Stakhovsky] immediately came to mind because I’ve known him for a very long time. We train together a lot whenever I’m in Ukraine, and he’s already been helping me anyway.

“For me, it was a very easy decision. It was also great that we had the opportunity to work together at the Billie Jean King Cup. He got to see how different players compete and became more involved in tennis again. So it was an easy choice for me, and I’m happy he agreed to help me this week.”

Svitolina worked with Stakhovsky at the Billie Jean King Cup, where Ukraine reached the final. Czechia defeated Ukraine 2-0 in the final, as Svitolina lost to Linda Noskova in straight sets.

Whether she can perform better with Stakhovsky at the WTA Finals remains to be seen. The good news for Svitolina is that she has a better WTA Finals win % than any other player competing this year…

Elina Svitolina has won 77% of her matches at the WTA Finals

Svitolina boasts an impressive 77% win rate at the WTA Finals. That’s better than Elena Rybakina, Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, and Jessica Pegula, two former champions and two former finalists.

WTA Finals win % among 2026 participants

• [6] Elina Svitolina – 77% (2018 champion)
• [1] Elena Rybakina – 64% (2025 champion)
• [2] Aryna Sabalenka – 57% (2022, 2025 finalist)
• [4] Coco Gauff – 47% (2024 champion)
• [5] Jessica Pegula – 43% (2023 finalist)
• [3] Mirra Andreeva – Making debut
• [7] Karolina Muchova – Making debut
• [8] Linda Noskova – Making debut

Svitolina lost her first two matches at the year-end championships to Caroline Wozniacki and Caroline Garcia in the 2017 Group Stage, before getting off the mark with a win over Simona Halep.

Then, in 2018, Svitolina won all five matches to clinch the biggest title of her professional career. She almost went back-to-back, too, before losing to Ashleigh Barty in the 2019 final.

Elina Svitolina’s WTA Finals record (10-3)

Svitolina then missed the 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 WTA Finals, but is set to make her long-awaited return in 2026. Only time will tell if she can return to winning ways this year. The 2026 WTA Finals begins on Sunday, November 8. Svitolina will play her first match on Monday, November 9, against Russia’s Mirra Andreeva.