Elina Svtolina Emotionally Describes How Pain Of Ukrainians Motivates Her
NewsMonday, 02 June 2025 at 21:28
Elina Svitolina's comeback to reach the quarterfinals at Roland Garros was incredible. Her victories are also more poignant than most because of what is happening in her home country.
Ukraine has been at war since Russia illegally invaded its territory in February 2022. Many worldwide have been inspired by the Ukrainians' fierce defense of their territory against a country with a much larger population.
Despite that resistance, much suffering has been caused by the war. Svitolina and millions of Ukrainians have been left devastated by numerous atrocities, leading to thousands of lives being lost.
Through that pain, Svitolina has tried to bring her fellow Ukrainians as much joy as possible by winning matches. The two-time Wimbledon semifinalist's superb results since returning from maternity leave in 2023 have been incredible considering the situation in her home country.
Svitolina's latest success was a 4-6, 7-6, 6-1 success against last year's runner-up at Roland Garros, Jasmine Paolini, after saving three match points. The 30-year-old's level throughout the match was incredible.
In her press conference after beating Paolini, Svitolina described how challenging it has been for Ukrainians, especially in the last few weeks, due to recent atrocities committed by Russia. Winning for Ukraine during those times motivates Svitolina.
"Very important for me personally. The last few months have been really tough for Ukrainian people, and the last few weeks have been awful, as well. Ukrainians wake up on a daily basis with bad news."
"When I'm on the court, I'm fully focused on these wins, to try and keep the Ukrainian flag flying for my country. That's what motivates me to keep winning, to keep pushing, to keep playing tennis in general. This is what I have on a daily basis. It's heavy, but it's a huge motivation for me."
It would be easy for Svitolina and other Ukrainian players to become overwhelmed or even feel they are not ready to play at the high level needed for professional tennis because of the anxiety and sadness surrounding what is happening in their homeland.
Instead, Svitolina and other players like Marta Kostyuk, Dayana Yastremska, and Anhelina Kalinina have shown terrific courage by continuing to compete hard while speaking regularly about what is happening in Ukraine.
Those women have been critical of the WTA and other governing bodies for not taking more measures in support of Ukraine. For instance, Svitolina and Kostyuk have called for Russian and Belarusian (the Belarusian government supports Russia) players to be banned.
Ukrainian players have also refused to shake hands with Russian and Belarusian players after matches. However, Kostyuk did do it with Russian-born Daria Kasatkina last month due to her switching allegiances to Australia and because of her critical comments about Russia's actions in Ukraine.
Svitolina is in her fifth quarterfinal at Roland Garros, but going further will be very challenging. On Tuesday, she faces the four-time champion Iga Swiatek, whose last loss at the venue was in 2021.
Doubts about Swiatek before the tournament were raised because she has not reached a final at any event since last year's French Open. She sent a message to her doubters with an outstanding 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 comeback victory against Elena Rybakina in the fourth round.
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