Elina Svitolina reaffirmed the message of standing strong with Ukrainians as she progressed into the second week of Roland Garros.
The seventh seed booked her place into the last 16 in Paris with a dominant 6-2 6-3 victory over Tamara Korpatsch.
Svitolina continues her on-court hot streak as she has followed up her title in Rome with a deep run in Paris.
Svitolina is the third Ukrainian still in the draw alongside Marta Kostyuk and Oleksandra Oliynkykova.
After the match Svitolina spoke how much it means for Ukrainian children and sport for there to be such a strong selection of role models in tennis, “It’s for sure amazing to have already in the top 100 seven girls, firstly. Then secondly, of course, playing really well in the past months, some of us,” Svitolina said in her press conference.
“I draw motivation from different things But I think for kids back in Ukraine, for young players, for just sport in general in Ukraine, I think it’s great to have so many girls playing really well and representing the country in such a big stage.
“I think, yeah, younger players should draw confidence from that and really draw as well, like, kind of when you have a dream, just go for it. I think it’s something nice for them to have in such difficult times.”
Speaking of Ukraine, it has once again been a hot topic and especially when it comes to Oliynkykova who shared screenshots of Diana Shnaider liking pro-Russia posts on social media ahead of their third round clash.
The seventh seed firmly stands with her compatriot’s strong stance on the subject and doesn’t ignore the news during a Grand Slam as it is part of her life, “I’ve seen briefly the comments. Yeah, I mean, I support Oleksandra. She’s very outspoken,” Svitolina outlined to journalists.
“It’s been, of course, for us, for players who been dealing for so many years, over four years, with these issues, already kind of in the past. But she’s a new player, so of course, with a strong opinion, so she wants to deliver the message right now, because she didn’t have the opportunity before.
“But me, personally, I support in the way that she’s very strong with her opinions. I mean, it’s no secret that Ukraine is still under huge attack. For us it’s still a very sensitive topic. If we’re not talking about it, it doesn’t mean that it’s not touching us and it’s not difficult for us. So I just, yeah, have the support for that.
“No, I don’t. For me it’s a part of my life, and it’s always been from the beginning of the war and always will be. You cannot escape that. Of course, it’s very difficult, very heavy, but it’s your life. You cannot escape this. You have to deal with it. If difficult match happened, okay, it happens. You need to get up, and you need to go to play if you’re in the right mindset to do that, if you are able to do it.
“But, unfortunately, for years and years it’s been the life of Ukrainians. Yeah, for me personally, I don’t know of the other players, yeah, I wouldn’t be able to just kind of, like, okay, whatever happens in Ukraine. Like, I’m off from that. No, for me it’s my life. I have my family there. I have my friends there. I have so much there, so I cannot. It’s a part of me, and I will never switch it off.”
Svitolina will aim to make the quarter-finals when she takes on either Peyton Stearns or Belinda Bencic on Sunday.
