Countrywoman Marta Kostyuk, after her first-round match against Russia's Oksana Selekhmeteva, appeared to sob into a towel and later, during the on-court interview, revealed that she had heard the morning of that day that a building 100 meters from her parents' house was hit by a missile. She showed a picture of the same during the press conference.

Oleksandra Oliynykova, after clinching her first Grand Slam match win, also showed a picture to the press about the bombed-out tennis club, where she used to practice. Svitolina, at the press conference after her latest win, criticized the WTA for the absence of reaction regarding this matter.

It's not new; it has been this way for four years, so I try not to dwell on it too much. It's very sad for us because we continue to experience situations like Marta's. It's very tough to wake up and hear news that your family was in enormous danger overnight and to feel helpless. We have been living this for years, and for me, to talk about it again… I feel like we have already analyzed it many times in the past. We already know the reactions, or rather, the total absence of reaction.

As a form of protest, the Ukrainian players have not shaken hands with the Belarusian and the Russian athletes, even the ones who have changed their nationality. The exceptions in this case are Elena Rybakina and Daria Kasatkina.

Oliynykova even accused several fellow players of supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko. She called out Aryna Sabalenka for reportedly liking an Instagram post of a Russian influencer praising Putin. Oliynykova also criticized those who played in an exhibition event, funded by the state-owned energy giant Gazprom, in St. Petersburg.

Without any doubt, Elina Svitolina's ascent to the top after motherhood is one of the most inspiring comebacks on the women's tour. She took maternity leave in 2022 and, after the birth of her daughter Skai, returned to the tour in 2023.

Because of her inactivity, she had dropped outside of the top 800, but currently sits in the seventh spot. At the press conference after her second-round win, Svitolina talked about the key to high performance after pregnancy.

After pregnancy, my body is very different from what it was before. Maybe when I was 25, I could play week after week more easily and consistently. Now it takes much more energy, and I also have to consider that my body went through a pregnancy and that sometimes I need to stop and give myself not just a day off but maybe two or three to really recover the energy and have a fresh perspective to train or compete.

Svitolina has already played three finals this year. After defeating Wang Xinyu at the ASB Classic, she lost the Dubai Tennis Championships to Jessica Pegula. But the former World No.3 tasted success at the Italian Open for the third time in her career, this time by beating Coco Gauff, winning her sixth WTA 1000 title.

Svitolina is a three-time semifinalist in Grand Slams, but has never made the stage at the French Open. In Paris, she is a five-time quarterfinalist, also reaching the stage last year. At the Australian Open this year, Svitolina made the semifinals, losing to eventual runner-up Aryna Sabalenka.

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