Ukraine wildcard Elina Svitolina has been eliminated at Wimbledon as her dreams of SW19 glory come to an end.
The glamorous tennis star lost in straight sets to Czech player Marketa Vondrousova on Center Court as they battled for a spot in the weekend’s grand final.
Few stars have captivated Wimbledon spectators as much as the spirited Svitolina, who won hearts and minds after beating world number one Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals of women’s singles, securing her place in the semifinals against Vondrousova.
Svitolina, currently 76th but already third, said: “It’s different at the moment.” Right now I’m just telling myself that I have fewer years ahead of me than behind me.
“I have to try.” I have no more time to waste. I don’t know how many more years I’ll be playing. So I just try to say to myself, “Do it.” You’re practicing for these moments, for these big moments. “It really helped me and also calmed me down a bit.”
Born in the Black Sea city of Odessa, Svitolina moved with her family to Kharkiv, where she learned tennis and then was brought out of thin air to compete in international competitions. She left home at the age of 12 and launched a career in which she is now fighting for her first Wimbledon title.
Glamorous Ukraine wildcard Elina Svitolina has taken to Center Court for her Wimbledon semifinal match. She is pictured during her quarterfinal match against Poland’s Iga Swiatek
Elina Svitolina (left) and Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic arrive on the pitch to play their women’s singles semi-final at Wimbledon
Czech Republic’s Marketa Vondrousova (left) returns the ball to Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina
Vondrousova previously said she believes she will face a “superwoman” in the semifinals when she faces Svitolina.
Svitolina is inspiring new moms around the world with her entry into the final four just nine months after the birth of her daughter Skai.
“It’s unbelievable what she did.” She received a wildcard and is in the semifinals. “It’s incredible,” said 24-year-old Czech Vondrousova. “I feel like it’s just such a short time after having a baby.” She does amazing things. Yes, she is a fighter and she plays so well.
“I think for us we can see that we can also cope with a baby.” It’s wonderful.
“She did a great job in Paris too.” Now she’s doing those things. Yeah, I mean, to me, it’s incredible that she can do that with a baby, after such a long time.
“We chat a bit on Instagram. I’m with her all the time. She fights so hard for everything. Now she also plays fantastic tennis. “She’s a super woman, I think.”
World No. 42 Vondrousova caused a shock when she defeated fourth-seeded Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals.
Vondrousova was full of praise for Svitolina after the game – but the Ukraine star was dejected throughout the game
The spirited Svitolina fought hard – but was ultimately on the defensive as the dominant Vondrousova won in straight sets
Elina started playing tennis at the age of five in the Ukrainian city of Odessa
She grew up with her athletic parents and her older brother, Yulian, nine years her senior
Elina’s family decided to move to Kharkiv to continue her coaching career, but her mother couldn’t leave Odessa immediately due to her own career as a professional bowler
Web is able to reveal the backstory of Elina’s journey to fame and public recognition and how it has always been fueled by an iron focus and ambition, including how her tennis dream led her to start a new life away from her family when she was just once was 12 years old.
We’ve followed Elina’s journey from her humble beginnings in Ukraine to ranked No. 3 in the world, who has dedicated her success on the pitch to the people of her war-ravaged country.
Elina started playing tennis at the age of five in the Ukrainian city of Odessa, where she lived with her athletic parents and her older brother, Yulian, nine years her senior.
In a 2013 interview, she said of her youth, “I liked playing with amateurs for a buck or two.” To me, it was a lot of money. I fought for every point and did my best to win. Then I spent all the money on candy.’
Her talent was recognized by businessman Yuriy Sapronov when he saw her play in one of his children’s tournaments.
He was so impressed with her that he offered to invest in her training at a tennis club in Kharkiv, about 350 miles from her hometown.
Elina’s family decided to move to Kharkiv to continue her coaching career, but her mother couldn’t leave Odessa immediately due to her own career as a professional bowler.
That meant Elina had to walk alone and practice for hours on the court before returning to her empty rented apartment in the eastern Ukrainian city in the evening. She continued her solitary education for two months before her mother finally came to her.
Incredibly, as a child, she almost missed her meteoric tennis career because she preferred gymnastics.
But she decided to focus on tennis to impress her former swimmer Elena Svitolina and her wrestler and later real estate agent father Mikhaylo Svitolin.
Recalling her single-minded ambition, she told Elle Ukraine in 2018, “I wasn’t just interested in tennis. There was running, basketball and gymnastics [in my life].
“I particularly liked gymnastics, it’s a very nice sport.” Maybe I wanted to do more gymnastics at some point, but I had to make a decision.
“Yulian is nine years older than me, he played.” [tennis] Well, and all his parents’ attention was on him.
Her parents traveled a lot trying to kickstart her brother’s tennis career, who now lives in Los Angeles and works as a tennis coach
Elina recalled spending much of her time in Odessa with her Jewish grandmother, Tamara
Her mother – a professional bowler – trained up to eight hours a day
Elina moved to Kharkiv and lived alone in an apartment while her mother retired
“So I wanted to do something to get my parents’ attention.” It was always very motivating. Yulian had a back injury, he had no choice – he had to recover. Then my parents turned around [their attention] a little bit more on me
“I always wanted to be famous, I wanted to do something to make my parents proud of me.” And my parents always motivate me, even now.”
She also shared how as a teenager she was forced to give away her beloved dog to her aunt because she spent so much time training and unable to take care of her pet.
Elina said five years ago, “I had a dog and I wanted to take him everywhere with me.” But Papillon is a breed that requires a lot of attention.
“And when I come back from training I don’t have as much energy.” I had to give the dog away and now he lives with my aunt and uncle and their children. So everything is fine.’
In January last year, she opened up about her family history in a two-hour interview with well-known Ukrainian journalist Dmitry Gordon.
Elina recalled spending much of her time in Odessa with her Jewish grandmother, Tamara, because her parents were away so much to help kickstart her brother’s tennis career, who now lives and works as a tennis coach in Los Angeles.
Her grandmother took her to dance classes and gymnastics and faithfully watched her compete in Ukraine’s local amateur tennis tournament.
She said of the city of her youth: “It was very nice.” [to me] And it was a lot of fun because I used to go to Yumorina (Odesa’s annual humor festival) with my grandma.
“It was a celebration I’ve been waiting for all year.” And it was incredibly beautiful for me to see this parade and to be a part of it. Odessa is my hometown and always will be.
“At first I lived on Uyutnaya Street. I have the best memories of the city. Although my parents traveled a lot with my older brother when I was little, I stayed with my grandma.
“My grandma is Jewish, so everything is Jewish.” [centred] around the family and how to make it comfortable for the family.
Describing her grandmother as “a classic Odessa Jewish woman,” she added, “Yes.” She has it all… If you want to see an Odessa Jewish grandma, you have to meet mine.” She added, “She is my biggest supporter since I was a kid.” While my parents were out with my brother, I played in some competitions for kids under 10, under 7, I remember my grandma watching me.”
The 23-year-old also posed half-naked for the Ukrainian men’s magazine XXL
Recalling how she lived alone before her teens, the star said, “We reached such a level in our family that we had to move on.”
“Either from Odessa abroad, or I’ll find a coach because I started playing at a certain level.” There was a coach from Kharkiv who, as it turned out later, was in a club sponsored by Yuri Sapronov. And it turned out that Yuri was looking for young talent.”
She added, “My mother was interested in professional bowling at the time.” My mother is very ambitious and likes to succeed.
“Before we move to Kharkiv, it was important that my mother had to graduate from professional bowling, despite her participation in the national championships.”
“She trained seven to eight hours a day. The first few months I was alone in Kharkiv. I was in a rented apartment.
“I was picked up from the bus in the morning. At the end of the day I was taken back to the apartment. And it was very important to me to be back before it got dark. I was a very shy kid. Those were my first steps into an independent life.’
Elina agreed that the regime was hard work and said: “Yes, yes.” But I am grateful for this time because I have become more independent. On the weekends I walked around Kharkiv by myself to learn what to show my mother when she came to visit.”
She described her life as a 12-year-old living alone: “Kharkiv is a very interesting city, completely different from Odessa.” People are not that open, that’s what I remember most. “I really liked this city, I lived near a park.”
She also shared how her family struggled to make ends meet at a young age before she became the figurehead of Ukrainian sport.
Elina said: “When we moved to Kharkiv, it was a time of crisis.” My father was in real estate business and it was very hard. And when my mother arrived we didn’t have a very big budget to spend on food.’
Recalling her parents shared her ambition, she said, “They told me I should have just spent my time playing tennis.” It was a big deal, I wasn’t allowed to go anywhere, I almost didn’t see my friends as a teenager .
Elina had time to qualify as a nutritionist after studying in Canada and has spoken in the past about eating healthy without meat and fish.
But her dedication to the sport of tennis saw her break into the top 50 in the world at the age of 18, the top 20 two years later, and the top ten in 2017 after a string of tournament wins.
She reached the semifinals at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2019 and became Ukraine’s first Olympic tennis champion when she won a bronze medal at the Tokyo 2021 games.
Elina admits she’s now a wealthy woman, having earned an estimated $15 million in prize money over the past four years, although she says she “lives very modestly.”
Forbes estimates that she makes over $1 million a year from endorsement deals alone.
However, she insists she invests the majority of her earnings in her career, although her fortune has landed her homes in Kiev, London and Monaco, where she lives with her husband, a French tennis player, Gaël Monfils.
She still returns to Ukraine twice a year, in July and November, to visit her grandmother and shower her with gifts such as flowers and sweets.
Elina, who drives a Mercedes her husband gave her after their wedding in Geneva in 2021, is said to spend around $400,000 a year running her team.
She has a head trainer, a fitness trainer, a physical therapist, and a psychologist on her payroll, while her father remains her business advisor, helping her manage her spectrum of “prudent” investments in real estate, stocks, the energy business, and fine collection crying
But she insists, “I’m still learning to take care of myself because up until a while ago I didn’t realize how much money I had.” “I like to save on everything.”
She also uses her success to help promising young tennis players with her Elina Svitolina Foundation and has been an ambassador for the fundraising platform United24 since June 2022.
Elina has refused to play in Russia since 2018. She also refuses to speak to Russian media.
She has visited war-torn areas of Ukraine and also received a letter of thanks from President Zelenskyy for the support she has shown her country.
In February of this year, she wrote from the city of Irpin, where she gave $20,000 to fundraisers to renovate a bomb-damaged apartment building.
Just a few weeks later, she posted a photo of herself in military attire from the Ukrainian volunteer unit Khartiya (Charter), which became a National Guard Brigade.
Before meeting her husband in 2018, she had a high-profile romance with English cricketer Reece Topley.
She and her husband Monfils, 36, began a clandestine relationship after meeting and exchanging phone numbers at a tennis players’ party in New York.
The couple married in Geneva in 2021 surrounded by friends and family, with influencer Valeria Potlova as Elina’s bridesmaid.
Elina recalled: “Yes, we had a very soulful wedding. There weren’t too many people there because it was difficult to have something big because of Covid [restrictions].
“It was one of the first times my parents and Gael’s were at the same event.” Of course, there was a language barrier because his parents didn’t speak English, only French, and my parents don’t speak French.”
In another interview, she admitted that she and her husband had “own money” but also shared a budget.
The player added, “When you’re making a lot of money, you always need a prenuptial agreement, especially when both sides have their own big projects and big expenses.” That’s normal.’
Elina’s mother Elena, in an interview with Sport Segodnya in 2017, admitted that her daughter was shy as a child.
She said: “Elina didn’t like talking to the coach at all or to anyone.” We warned him that the girl was not talkative, although at home she was a happy and active child. But not in public. For three years – between the ages of five and eight – she didn’t speak to anyone during training.”
“She went to School No. 35, which had intensive English classes, and studied there until fourth grade.” She started training seriously, had to compete, and the school didn’t quite understand that. “We transferred her to an Olympic reserve school.”
Speaking back then about her daughter’s relationship with cricketer Topley, she recalled first meeting the two in Monaco.
She said: “Elina has an apartment there and he flew to her for two days.” They rarely see each other because he is an athlete himself and only has Saturdays and Sundays off. And he flew to Roland Garros.
“The boy is very good. I like him. Calm, attentive. Some classic English restraint. They met last fall, but Elina didn’t tell us anything about him at first. In general, I don’t want to talk about it too much because it’s very difficult to relate to her and his lifestyle.
“These are very rare encounters.” Hopefully they make it. I saw his family in London at Wimbledon – they came and supported Elina. I understand that she liked his family.
“And the boy loves his parents, treats his mother very tenderly.” He has lived separately from his parents since he was 18, he has his own house. That is, the boy is completely independent, and I have the image of a gentleman, a quiet person, but who knows exactly what he wants. ‘