Elina Svitolina Vows To Continue Raising Awareness Of Ukraine War After Reaching Australian Open Quarters - UBITENNIS

Elina Svitolina Vows To Continue Raising Awareness Of Ukraine War After Reaching Australian Open Quarters

By Adam Addicott
4 Min Read
Elina Svitolina - Australian Open 2025 (foto X @AustralianOpen)

Elina Svitolina describes the fighting spirit she showed during her latest match at the Australian Open as ‘Ukraine Spirit’ and hopes her run brings a little light to her war-stricken country.

The former world No.3 is through to the quarter-finals in Melbourne for the first time in six years after beating Veronika Kudermetova 6-4, 6-1, in a match which she started by losing four out of the first five games played. Kudermetova was struggling physically and had a medical time out after dropping the first set. Svitolina is one of only two women left in the draw to have won 100 or more Grand Slam matches along with Madison Keys, who is her opponent in the next round.

Following her latest clash, Svitolina declined to shake hands with Kudermetova which is the usual practice for many Ukrainian players when facing opponents from Russia or Belarus. Their reason for doing so is linked to the Russian invasion of Ukraine which began in February 2022 and has killed thousands of people. Coincidentally, Svitolina hasn’t lost to a Russian player on the Tour since the war began, winning all eight of her encounters.

“I don’t do anything different. For me is the same routine that I have in the morning, before the matches. Everything is the same.” She said of her record.

“It’s just I feel the spirit is different. I’m putting everything out there. I feel like I put all my energy there. If I’m not going to win, I’m going to almost die on the court. I’m not going to let her win that easy.

“So I feel like this fighting spirit is really pulling me through these matches. As I mentioned, it’s just the associations that I have with this country. It’s very painful and very tough on my heart. So, of course, I have an extra motivation for this.”

The 30-year-old is an ambassador for United24 which is a fundraising platform created by President Volodymyr Zelensky to raise money for the country’s rebuilding programme. During the off-season, she returned to Ukraine and visited Kharkiv where she met members of the members of the Khartiya military unit.  

“As one of the top athletes of Ukraine, I feel like I should use my platforms and I should use my voice at the maximum that I can to raise awareness,” she said.

“To raise funds for multiple different kinds of directions of what our Ukrainian people are in need.

“I feel like sometimes people, they forget that there’s still the war, that we still need help.”

As for on the court, Svitolina wants to let her tennis do the talking as she bids to reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open for the first time in her career. When asked if she can imagine a scenario when she will once again start shaking hands with Russian opponents at the net, the world No.75 was doubtful.

“Adding to my feeling that I have an association with this country, for me, I don’t see it happening because it’s just a terrible feeling. I do not wish anyone to ever experience this.” She said.

“To wake up to the news of when your friends die on the front line, been killed by a Russian soldier, it’s something that really, really heavy on my heart.”

According to comments made by President Zelensky last December, 43,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed during the war and 370,000 injuries have occurred. However, these figures have not been independently verified.

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