Ukrainian player Svitolina reaches Wimbledon quarterfinals

On Monday, Elina Svitolina from Ukraine, ranked No. 76 in the world, secured a 2-1 victory over Victoria Azarenka from Belarus, ranked No. 20, in the round of 16 of the women's singles at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, England.

Svitolina is renowned for her strong patriotism. When Russia invaded Ukraine last year, she declared that she would “not compete against players from Russia and Belarus, which supported Russia.” Despite being persuaded to participate in a tournament and defeating a Russian player, she remained true to her words by announcing that she would “donate all of my prize money to the Ukrainian army.” Even after returning to the court in April of this year from maternity leave, she continues to uphold her stance by refraining from shaking hands with players from either country.

So perhaps it was Azarenka whom Svitolina desired to defeat the most. Since the outbreak of the war, no Ukrainian player had emerged victorious against her. “I arrived at the tournament during a challenging period for my country, so I believe I fought hard for every point, and each point ultimately contributed to my victory,” said Svitolina, who had previously faced consistent losses against Azarenka in one-on-one matches.

In that sense, it is somewhat peculiar that Svitolina's quarterfinal opponent is Iga Świątek from Poland, currently ranked 1st. Since last year, Świątek has been wearing a ribbon in the colors of the Ukrainian flag on her cap to show support for Ukraine. Świątek has advanced to the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the first time since turning professional, following her 2-1 victory over Belinda Bencic from Switzerland in the round of 16.


Bo-Mi Im bom@donga.com