Who Is Elina Avanesyan

Rising Russian tennis star Elina Avanesyan has captured attention with her stellar performance at the 2024 Australian Open. The 21-year-old made headlines after a commanding victory over Maria Sakkari in the second round, adding to her growing reputation among Russia’s emerging WTA talents. With this impressive feat, Avanesyan is now on the verge of surpassing the $1 million milestone in career prize money.
Avanesyan’s Earnings at the Australian Open
By securing a third-round spot in the women’s singles draw, Avanesyan has already guaranteed herself A$180,000 ($121,770) in prize money. Additionally, her doubles campaign alongside Iryna Shymanovich will begin on Thursday, with a first-round participation ensuring A$36,000 ($24,550)—an amount split equally between both players. As a result, Avanesyan is set to add at least $134,045 to her existing career earnings of $809,169.
To break past the $1 million mark, Avanesyan must win her next singles and doubles matches. Advancing to the fourth round in singles would boost her earnings to $172,508, while progressing in doubles would add $18,072 ($36,144 per team). This would bring her total career prize money to $1,001,211, a significant milestone for a player who only made her WTA Tour debut in April 2022.
Avanesyan’s Journey and Rankings
The Russian broke into the top 100 in 2023 after a series of impressive performances. She reached the fourth round of the French Open and the second round at the US Open, achieving a career-best ranking of World No.62 before concluding the season at No.75.
Currently ranked World No.74 in singles and No.324 in doubles, Avanesyan resides in Spain, training under María José Llorca Pons. She is sponsored by Head and Adidas.
Upcoming Matches at the 2024 Australian Open
Avanesyan's third-round singles clash will be against World No.37 Marta Kostyuk, a Ukrainian player recently involved in controversy for refusing to play against Russian teen Mirra Andreeva in a December 2023 exhibition match due to geopolitical tensions.Nevertheless, she must now prepare herself for a do-or-die match against Avanesyan.
Scheduled for Friday, January 19, at 2.00 p.m. local time (10:00 p.m. ET on January 18), the match will be shown live on ESPN.
Meanwhile, Avanesyan and her partner, Shymanovich, will make their women's doubles debut on Thursday, January 18, with play scheduled to begin not before 7:00 p.m. local time (3:00 a.m. ET).
Riding high on momentum, Avanesyan is set to continue her journey in Melbourne Park by trying to win another match on her path to the $1 million career earnings mark.