French Open: Elina Svitolina, who won the WTA championship in Strasbourg only seven months after giving birth to her first child, has committed to giving her French Open prize money to Ukrainian children.
The couple’s baby Skai was born in October, and Svitolina, a married player named Gael Monfils, didn’t rejoin the circuit until April.
The former world No. 3 declared her pregnancy shortly after announcing her vacation in March of last year, blaming the psychological toll of the Russian invasion of her own country.
Svitolina entered Strasbourg last week rated 508 in the world, but the 28-year-old won the match.
Using her protected status to compete at the Grand Slam, Svitolina, who has never advanced past the quarterfinals at Roland Garros, defeated Italian 26th seed Martina Trevisan 6-2, 6-2 on Monday.
1st one as a mama 🥹🥰🏆
#17 #special @WTA_Strasbourg pic.twitter.com/nr0WEb4L0q
— Elina Monfils (@ElinaSvitolina) May 27, 2023
Svitolina has pledged to do the same in Roland Garros after celebrating her victory in Strasbourg by giving her prize money to support young people in her own country.
Svitolina, who won the WTA Finals in 2018 and advanced to the semi-finals of Wimbledon and the US Open in 2019, said, “Yes, I’m donating this money to the kids of Ukraine after Strasbourg.” “We’ll watch to see precisely where it goes.
“With this award money, I’ll explore my options and the urban environment’s demands.
“My charity is also working on several health and mental health programmes for children. So perhaps a portion will also go to this. There are many routes we may follow, but first we’ll determine what has to be addressed immediately.”
Svitolina acknowledges that since becoming a wife and mother, the Ukraine War has personally altered her.
“I believe that the war drastically altered me. I really value the time I spend with my family and the time I have every day,” she remarked.
“I make a sincere effort to recognise how fortunate I am to be in my situation and to have a voice. Additionally, playing at such significant events and having the chance to do so serve to inspire young Ukrainian children to take advantage of this chance.
“I just want to offer this tiny piece to the people that need it the most right now because in so many ways, I’m simply thankful that my life turned out the way it did. All I want to do is provide something in exchange.”
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