Elina Svitolina says winning the ASB Classic “means the world” to her after a challenging end to last season, as she claimed the Auckland title with a 6-3 7-6(6) victory over Wang Xinyu on Sunday.

Svitolina said the week had demanded different solutions from her across a range of matches, and she was proud of the way she handled the pressure when it mattered most.

“It was a really challenging week with different kinds of matches, but very happy with the performance, with the way I handled the pressure, the tough opponents and tricky situations,” Svitolina said.

“So I’m very happy with the win and getting this trophy, with the experience I had two years ago, falling a bit short (to Coco Gauff) in the final, but this time getting another trophy.”

The final was decided by fine margins. There was only one break of serve in the match, and after Svitolina took the first set, the second stayed locked on serve all the way into a tiebreak.

Wang said the match underlined how quickly a point, or even a couple of points, can swing at the top level, and credited Svitolina’s serving in the biggest moments.

“I would say that it was definitely close in the tiebreak,” Wang said. “Every time, when I had a break point, or when I was up, she just started serving unbelievable. So that’s all credit to her.”

In the tiebreak, Wang jumped out to a 3-0 lead, only for Svitolina to win the next three points and draw level at 3-3. Wang later saved a match point serving at 5-6, but Svitolina closed out the match two points later.

Svitolina’s win continued her strong record in finals, now 19 titles from 23 championship matches. So why is she so good in finals?

“It’s tough to say, but I try to really be 100% focused on every single point in the finals,” she said.

“I think there’s a mixture of different feelings in the finals, and it’s lots of pressure. So I think it’s important to fight. Just try to really put your head down and work for the title. And yeah, so far, so far, so good.”

Wang said the experience of sharing the court with the Ukrainian was something she valued, even in defeat.

“Every time I play her, it reminds me of how much I can still improve, I can still do,” Wang said. “So, I’m happy that I got the chance to share the court with her today.”

While Svitolina spoke about the demands of a final, she also framed the trophy in the context of her broader journey, particularly the decision she made late last season to step away early, rather than try to push through when she felt mentally drained.

“Well, definitely it means the world to me, especially after a tough end of last season,” Svitolina said. “Mentally I was really struggling and decided to take some time off, to not finish completely the season, and mentally, I was drained.”

Svitolina said the decision to pause wasn’t simple, because she felt she was in a position where she could have kept pushing — but chose instead to prioritise her mental health and rebuild.

“Sometimes it’s not easy to stop the season early, but sometimes you need to make one step back to make two, three steps forward,” she said.

“I think now I’m in a good place. I think I’m playing well. I had a good off season. I was ready to work, because when you’re mentally drained, you don’t even have power to work, to face difficult situations, you cannot be tough.”

Svitolina also spoke warmly about Auckland and the ASB Classic, describing it as a tournament she enjoys returning to. Right now, she and her husband, Gael Monfils, are the current champions of these tournaments.

“We enjoy playing here quite a lot,” she said. “It’s nothing that we don’t like, OK, maybe sometimes the windy conditions. But we cannot control that, it’s the nature.”

She praised the crowd and the way the tournament draws fans in, even late into the evening, describing it as the kind of environment players appreciate.

“I feel like the organisation is great, the fans are amazing,” she said.

“To have a full crowd for almost all the matches, even everybody stays late, to watch the matches, and everything is organised really nicely. So of course as a player, you enjoy coming back to these kind of tournaments.”

For Wang, the disappointment of falling short was clear, but she framed the week as something she could build on.

“I wish I could have won the trophy today. It’s tough to lose in the final always,” she said, referring to her defeat to Marketa Vondrousova in Berlin last year.

“But when Elina is playing really good, I’m happy for her and I want to say good luck to her for the rest of the season too.”