“Believe in yourself and fight for your dream” – Tearful Svitolina thanks world for supporting Ukraine after Wimbledon exit

Elina Svitolina was very emotional after losing her Wimbledon semi-final against Marketa Vondrousova

Elina Svitolina leaves Wimbledon (Chryslene Caillaud/Panoramic)

July 13, 2023

A weeping Elina Svitolina was as self-contained as it was possible for her to be after losing her Wimbledon semi-final to Marketa Vondrousova.

The wild card had taken out top seed Iga Swiatek in the quarter-finals and was benefiting from huge crowd support in SW19 – perhaps partly because she has spent so much time in the UK, and partly because of her Ukrainian nationality.

But ultimately she fell at the last hurdle, missing out on a maiden Wimbledon final, and that stung, even though she could not have anticipated such a run at her second Grand Slam back on tour after giving birth to daughter Skai last year.

She was evidently disappointed for herself, but also disappointed as a representative of her country.

“I had to deal with the situation maybe a bit better, but I wouldn’t say I was too nervous,” Svitolina said to journalists afterwards, rejecting the idea that the expectation had got to her. “It was just, yeah, I should have find a better way to deal with Marketa’s game style. She’s very tricky opponent. She gets lots of balls back.

Svitolina: I’m thankful for everyone who has supported me and all Ukrainian people

Asked how she would have felt last year knowing that she would reach the last four of a Slam within the next 12 months, she replied: “It would be tough to believe. But right now just really upset that I couldn’t go further to play in the final.”

The message she wanted people to take from her campaign was, she said: “To believe in yourself. Different kind of levels, as well. In different situations, you always need to find the way to fight for your dream. Yeah, just continue dreaming and trying to achieve your dream.”

And she thanked all those who had vocally supported her and everyone from her country.

“Even today when I was down, I got a lot of support. I’m really thankful for the crowd to support me, be there for me, and all Ukrainian people as well. They support us quite a lot in different kind of ways, for a lot of Ukrainians who arrived here when the war started. Really thankful for all the people to support us in different levels.”