Elina Svitolina wins a tour-leading fourth title of the season with victory in Rome over Simona Halep

Svitolina returned to the top 10 of the WTA rankings with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 victory over the former World No 2 Simona Halep, in the final of the Italian Open

The Ukrainian is firmly among the contenders at this year's French Open (Getty)

Elina Svitolina surged to No. 1 in the season-long rankings race by beating Simona Halep 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 in final of the Italian Open on Sunday.

It was a tour-best fourth title this year for Svitolina and the most prestigious trophy of her young career. The 22-year-old Ukrainian also leads the tour with 31 match wins this season.

“Every day I'm just trying to work on my mental part, my physical, my tennis,” Svitolina said. “Everything just came together and I'm very happy that it's happened in such a big tournament.”

The fourth-ranked Halep was in full control and serving for the first set at 5-2 when she rolled her right ankle while sliding over what appeared to be a small hole in the Foro Italico stadium court.

While Halep was able to eventually win the opening set, she required treatment to her ankle from a trainer twice and was late getting to shots as the match wore on.

This is the most prestigious trophy of the 22-year-old's career (Getty)

“Sorry guys for third set,” Halep told the crowd. “It was a little tough for me to get through but Elina played great.”

Halep was playing in her second clay-court final in two weeks after winning the title in Madrid last Sunday.

Halep was in control until she rolled her ankle (Getty)

Svitolina also required medical treatment from a trainer midway through the second set, for an apparent problem with her left leg.

“Hopefully we'll recover, me and Simona, because we're struggling a bit physically,” Svitolina said.

The two women on the podium (Getty)

The first two sets featured long, nervous baseline rallies in which both players waited for their opponent to commit errors.

“It was very tough first two sets and I'm really happy that it's all finished,” Svitolina said.