Elina Svitolina was in tears as she shared her appreciation for the support she received from Ukraine. The world No 76 suffered a one-sided defeat to Marketa Vondrousova in the Wimbledon semi-final and was visibly disappointed after losing the chance to reach her maiden Grand Slam final. Svitolina was also asked about the scenario of Kate, Princess of Wales, potentially handing Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka the trophy on Saturday but said she wasn’t in the right state of mind to answer the question.
Svitolina’s fairytale run at Wimbledon came to an end on Thursday as she crashed out in the semi-final. The 28-year-old gave birth to her first child in October and only returned to competition in April and had already matched her previous best result at a Major by reaching the last four.
As well as giving birth last year, Svitolina has also been dealing with the effects of the war in her home of Ukraine – making her achievements even more impressive. The Ukrainian ambassador to the United Kingdom watched on in the Royal Box during her semi-final and, after her defeat, the world No 76 teared up as she discussed the support she received from those back home.
“I didn’t know, to be fair. I’m leaving tonight, so… I didn’t had the contact with them,” she said after learning the ambassador watched her match. “I didn’t know that they were here. Thanks to them to come to support me.”
When asked if she felt the strength and support from all of Ukraine, Svitolina briefly teared up before continuing. “For sure. For sure. Massive support. I got a lot of messages from different people. It’s unbelievable that they been there with me all the way. Hopefully they continue,” she said as her voice broke.
And Svitolina also said she wasn’t able to answer a question about Belarusian rival Sabalenka. The world No 2 could reach Saturday’s final as she is through to the second semi-final to face Ons Jabeur. And the Ukrainian was asked what it would look like if the Princess of Wales had to give the trophy to someone from Belarus.
The former world No 3 responded: “To be fair, I didn’t really think about this at all. Right now I’m not in a good state of mind to reply to these questions. I will not be here. Yeah, I’m just upset that I’m not playing and not taking that trophy from her.”
Ahead of the semi-final, Svitolina admitted that she felt a responsibility when she faced someone from Belarus – as she did against Victoria Azarenka in the fourth round. The world No 76 had been trying to bring joy to Ukraine during her time at Wimbledon and admitted it was sometimes difficult despite being a source of motivation.
“For sure it’s a big motivation, but as you mentioned, it’s a lot of responsibility, a lot of tension. I try to balance it as much as I can,” she said. “But, yeah, sometimes it gets maybe too much.
“But I don’t want to take it as an excuse that I lost today. I try to take it as a motivation for me. I just hope that Ukrainian people continue supporting me. It was really amazing. And, yeah, just hope that I’m going to get another chance.”
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