New mom, Ukrainian star | Tennis News, The Indian Express

Nine months on from the birth of her first child, representing a war-torn nation, Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina defeated World No. 1 and four-time Major winner Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-2 on Tuesday to reach the semifinals in one of the biggest results of her career so far.Following the birth of her daughter with fellow tennis player Gael Monfils, Svitolina only returned from maternity leave in April, since when she reached the quarterfinals of the French Open last month, and has now entered the last four at SW19.Not only is Svitolina showing some of the best physical resilience and movement in her entire career, but has also found a newfound level of aggression to meet her regular error-free game.
She is also doing it at a time when she is the most high-profile tennis player to represent her country since the Russian invasion of Ukraine back in February 2022. Over the past few months, Svitolina has been at the forefront of the controversy surrounding her refusal to shake hands with Russian or Belarusian players, of which there are plenty among women’s tennis’ elite, and has had to bring a level of intensity and resilience during a period when she has had to reconcile with the fact that many of her well-wishers back home have been displaced war.
Given everything that has surrounded her this year, it is evident that Svitolina is not just playing for herself since her comeback.
Both Svitolina and Swiatek were doing battle in the quarterfinals after making remarkable comebacks to win respective epics in the fourth round on Sunday. Their battle would go along similar lines.
Swiatek, whose win over Belinda Bencic after saving match points two days prior was meant to usher in a new edge in her grass-court repertoire, was first to draw blood. The Pole found herself 5-3 up in the first set before Svitolina raised her game through that newfound aggression to win four games in a row and take the first set.
Swiatek was, from thereon, on the backfoot throughout the match, including the second-set tiebreaker which Svitolina led 4-1 but lost. The Ukrainian knew, however, that her opponent is still vulnerable and let her natural game take the course, finding the right moments to raise her level enough to suffocate her faltering opponent.
prevailing on Tuesday, Svitolina repeated her best-ever showing at a Major. She reached the semifinal at Wimbledon in 2019 but was far away from being a crowd favourite. But over the last two matches, Svitolina endeared herself to the SW19 crowds in a way she has never done before.
This wasn’t just on the back of her story – new mom, Ukrainian star – but also the level of tennis she has been able to produce.

Moving her opponent
The 28-year-old’s formative years came at a time when defence-first counterpunching styles were the most dominant on the women’s tour. Being of that breed, especially after her exploits at the French Open last month, expectations were never sky-high over what she could achieve on the grass courts in London.
Against Victoria Azarenka, a wily experienced player who may not lead the rankings but tends to show up at the Majors, on Sunday, Svitolina lost the first set 2-6, to rally back and win 11-9 in the final-set tiebreaker. Her problem-solving was not about merely making more shots, but moving her opponent, using the pace she can generate from her backhand to send her out of her striking zone.
It was impressive mental resilience that met a higher, more intense attacking level Svitolina has shown before. And more of it was on show in the quarterfinal. Svitolina may have been behind for much of the first set against Swiatek, but she was preying on errors from the start.
the time Svitolina had levelled at 5-5, Swiatek had not won a single point on her second serve. As pressure piled and she missed her first, Svitolina was right there to pounce, winning 92% of the points on Swiatek’s second serve in that set. As pressure piled and she began spraying her forehand, Svitolina was right there to pounce, bringing her backhand into play to make Swiatek go for riskier shots on the wing she was making errors on.

And if the new attacking edge was built on pouncing on errors, her resilience was built on making very few of her own. After losing the second-set tiebreak despite leading it comfortably, at a time when a mental collapse could be expected, she did not face a single break point for the rest of the match.
“I was thinking back home there’s lots of people watching and cheering for me. I know how much it means to them and any moments that they can share happiness,” Svitolina had said, holding back tears, after beating Azarenka. “That’s why it means a lot to get these kinds of wins. In my own way, to bring this victory, a small victory, to Ukraine.” She will now get a chance to reach a first Major final when she takes on Czech Republic’s Marketa Vondrousova on Thursday.