Elina Svitolina explains U-turn as Ukrainian ace agrees to face Russian opponent and wins

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Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina said she was on a “mission” after defeating Russia’s Anastasia Potapova at the Monterrey Open. The world No 15 initially refused to compete against the Russian unless tennis’ governing bodies made a stand against the country’s invasion of Ukraine. She made a U-turn after it was announced that all Russian and Belarusian players would compete neutrally.

Svitolina had made a bold statement in the days before her opening match at the Monterrey Open, saying she would not play any matches against Russian or Belarusian opponents unless they became neutral athletes, “without displaying any national symbols, colours, flags or anthems”.

On the day of her match against Russian world No 81 Potapova, the 27-year-old confirmed she would be playing the match after a productive call with the WTA.

And hours before Svitolina took to the court in Mexico, the ATP, WTA, ITF and four Grand Slams made a joint statement, announcing all Russian and Belarusian tennis players would be accepted as neutral athletes only.

The men’s and women’s tours also confirmed the suspension of the Moscow tournament in October, while the International Tennis Federation said the two countries would be banned from competing in their events including the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup, where Russia are the defending champions.

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Having made the decision to compete against her now-neutral opponent, Svitolina dominanted as she needed just an hour to seal a 6-2 6-1 victory.

The top seed and former champion in Monterrey wore the colours of the Ukrainian flag en route to her victory, and was seen thumping her chest on the court.

She exchanged words with the 20-year-old at the net, having previously thanked her Russian colleagues who stood up against the war in one of her statements.

After the match, the Ukrainian tennis star explained why she had made a U-turn and decided to compete, admitting she was “on a mission” for her country.

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“Today it was a very special match for me,” the former world No 3 said.

“I’m in a very sad mood, but I’m happy that I’m playing tennis here.

“I was focused. I was on a mission for my country. From the beginning, it was important to be ready for anything that comes my way.”

Svitolina is donating all of her prize money to the Ukrainian army in their efforts to fend off the Russian invasion and said she wanted to keep playing so she could use her resources and platform to help her country.

The 2018 WTA Finals champion also said she felt a duty to call on the help of the tennis world, adding: “I think it’s my mission to unite our tennis community to stand with Ukraine, to help Ukraine because what we’re going through is a horrible thing for all Ukrainians.

“That’s why I’m here. That’s why I’m playing for my country and doing my best using my platform and using my resources to introduce that and try to invite people to support Ukraine.

“For me, playing the match here, I’m not playing only for myself. I’m playing for my country, I’m playing for the help of the Ukrainian army and people in need. Every victory that I’m going to get is going to be very special.”

Svitolina, who won the title in 2020 just before tennis was suspended for the pandemic, next faces Bulgarian qualifier Viktoriya Tomova in the second round.

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