Wimbledon 2023: New mom Elina Svitolina leading Ukraine's battle on tennis court

For Elina Svitolina everything has changed in the past year. She gave birth to daughter Skaï in mid-October last year. She witnessed her homeland of Ukraine and its people devastated by Russia’s invasion that started in February 2022. The two became intertwined, as life has for many in Ukraine, with the former World No 3 once not having “any motivation to train.” In turn, these things, these massive life-altering developments, have changed everything for her on the court.

She returned to tennis in April at Charleston and was beaten in the first match back. The first win came a week later. And then a title in Strasbourg a month later. In the first major, she reached the quarter-finals in Paris. On Tuesday at Wimbledon, she booked her place in the semi-finals after beating World No 1 Iga Swiatek. Over the fortnight she had beaten three other former Grand Slam champions - Venus Williams, Sofia Kenin and Victoria Azarenka. Her second round win had come against Elise Mertens who was unbeaten in Round of 64s at majors.

The upward curve has been tremendous. She was outside the top 1340 in the world when she returned to court. Now, she is 27th in the live rankings. A win in the semi-final and she would inch closer to the top-20. If she goes all the way, the Ukrainian would be on the cusp of breaking into the top-10 again. The 2019 Wimbledon semi-finalist, swept aside by Simona Halep in just 72 minutes, has turned a leaf with a newfound attacking approach to tennis. Once a defensive counter-puncher, Svitolina won 18 of 27 points on Swiatek’s second serve. Despite dropping the second set, and what could have been a defining shift in momentum, Svitolina raised her level in the third. 12 of Svitolina’s 25 winners came in the third set while collecting 83% of the points on her first serve. The 28-year-old also forced Swiatek into making 12 unforced errors.

Everything, though, starts with her country. In November, she (and Swiatek) was part of a charity match to raise funds for kids affected by the conflict in Ukraine. Thereafter, on tour, she led the crusade in this highly political and controversial topic. She, and other Ukrainian players, have held their position of not shaking hands with players from Russia and its ally Belarus. The decision could have a big impact on a player’s mindset - especially in a sport like tennis where complete focus is required from the word go. But the onus of doing it for the country brings with it responsibility and drive to get the win no matter what.

Svitolina trailed Azarenka 4-7 in the match tiebreak and needed a second match point to get the job done. Against Swiatek, she trailed 3-5 in the first set before picking up consecutive breaks of serve. “I know that lots of people back in Ukraine are watching,” Svitolina said after her win over Swiatek. “I got really massive amount of messages from last round…I’m happy I can bring a little happiness to their life. There was many videos also on Internet where the kids are watching on their phones. This really makes my heart melt seeing this.” The war, in a twisted way, has brought clarity. Sport is just a sport, it’s not war.

“I think war made me stronger and also made me, like, mentally stronger,” she said. “Mentally I don’t take difficult situations as like a disaster, you know? There are worse things in life. I’m just more calmer. “I think having a child, and war, made me a different person.” It is highly naive to suggest sports and politics don’t mix and it holds incredibly true for a war-torn Ukraine. With her wins against Sabalenka from Belarus and Swiatek, Svitolina has proven how the two can come together for the good.