Elina Avanesyan Sets Sights on Representing Armenia at 2028 Los Angeles Olympics

Elina Avanesyan has set her sights on representing Armenia at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, a goal the country’s top women’s tennis player believes is increasingly within reach as Armenia strengthens its national team.

“Competing at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics is one of our biggest dreams,” Avanesyan told reporters in Armenia. “It carries even greater responsibility because we would be representing Armenia at the Olympic Games.”

Avanesyan, who switched sporting representation to Armenia in 2024, is currently No. 159 in the WTA rankings. She is in Armenia with Alina Charaeva, the world No. 108 who recently joined the Armenian national team.

The visit comes as Avanesyan continues her return to competition following a health issue that forced her to step away from tennis. She said she has fully recovered physically, though rebuilding her confidence on court remains a work in progress.

“The past year was quite difficult for me,” Avanesyan said. “Now I can say that I am completely healthy and have fully recovered, which makes me very happy.”

She said every victory since returning has helped bring back some of the confidence she had before the interruption.

“I am happy to be back on the court and ready to strive for new heights,” she said.

One of the highlights of her return came this year when Avanesyan made her debut for Armenia in the Billie Jean King Cup. Armenia earned promotion to Group II, its best result in the competition in 16 years.

Avanesyan said representing a national team brought a different kind of pressure.

“I was very nervous because it was my first time playing for the national team and representing the country,” she said. “But it turned out to be a very good tournament because we have a wonderful team.”

The addition of Charaeva gives Armenia another top-110 player as the team looks to build on that result. For Avanesyan, Charaeva is also a familiar face. The two played together as children and now have a chance to compete alongside each other under the Armenian flag.

“We have a long road ahead of us with the Armenian national team and under the Armenian flag, and I am happy that she will be with me along the way,” Avanesyan said.

Their partnership could eventually extend beyond national team competition. Avanesyan said the two have discussed playing doubles together on the professional tour, something they have not done since becoming professional players.

“I still need to catch up with Alina in the rankings,” Avanesyan said. “We already have experience because we played together when we were younger, but it would be our first time playing together professionally at a tournament.”

The Olympics remain a longer-term target, but after a year disrupted by health problems, Avanesyan said her immediate priority is more fundamental.

“My dream is very simple and very important: to be healthy and stay healthy,” she said. “That is extremely important in sports.”

Her connection with Armenia is also developing away from tennis. Avanesyan said she is studying Armenian and has learned 22 letters of the alphabet. She hopes that by her next visit she will be able to communicate more comfortably in the language.

She offered reporters an example of her progress in Armenian: “I love Armenia very, very much, and I am very happy to be here.”

Avanesyan and Charaeva also spent part of their visit working with young tennis players during a master class in Tsaghkadzor. Avanesyan said the experience underscored the influence professional athletes can have on children who are just beginning in the sport.

“It is very important for me to be a source of inspiration for children,” she said. “It is motivating not only for them but also for us to become better so they can look to us as examples.”

Avanesyan is a participant in the Keron Development Foundation’s Talent Fund program.

With Armenia back in Group II of the Billie Jean King Cup and Charaeva now joining Avanesyan on the national team, the country enters its next international campaign with two players ranked inside the WTA’s top 160 — and an Olympic appearance in Los Angeles emerging as their biggest target.

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