Elina Svitolina winds down with daughter Skai in their home pool after fairytale Wimbledon run
Elina Svitolina is taking a much-deserved break after her dream semifinal run at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships and spending quality with her eight-month-old daughter Skai.
Svitolina played her second semifinal at Wimbledon in 5 years (after 2019) and faced Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic. The Ukrainian's time at Wimbledon was another in a string of impressive that she has put in after coming back from her maternity leave in April. While Svitolina was outplayed by Vondrousova 6-3, 6-3, the 28-year-old was excited to be reunited with her family back home after the loss.
Elina Svitolina's husband, Gael Monfils, and daughter, Skai, were not seen in the player's box during any of her matches. After her semifinal match, former World No. 3 expressed that she is looking forward to finally seeing her family after spending time away from them.
"Very happy. It will be the best moment," she said.
The Ukrainian also took to Instagram to share an image of her relaxing after a grueling Wimbledon campaign with Skai in her home pool, with their dog by their side.
"Home," Svitolina wrote with the picture.
Svitolina defeated four Grand Slam champions on her way to the semifinal appearance at SW19. The Ukrainian bettered Venus Williams (seven-time Grand Slam winner in the first round), Sofia Kenin (2020 Australian Open Champion in the third round), Victoria Azarenka (two-time Australian Open Champion in the fourth round), and World No. 1 Iga Swiatek (four-time Major winner in the quarterfinal).
Elina Svitolina reclaims Ukrainian No. 1 spot from Anhelina Kalinina
Elina Svitolina, who entered the 2023 Wimbledon Championships main draw via a wildcard, was ranked World No. 76 before the tournament began. However, now thanks to her semifinal run, Svitolina has jumped nearly 50 spots in the WTA rankings, sitting World No. 27 with 1578 points to her name. This means that she is now once again the top-ranked women's tennis player from her country.
Svitolina takes the honor from Anhelina Kalinina, who is World No. 28 with 1567 points. This milestone is even more stunning as Svitolina was unranked in April when she returned to the WTA Tour after over a year.
Since then, she has gone on to win her 17th career title at the Strasbourg Open (defeated Anna Blinkova in the final) and followed up that performance with a quarterfinal run at the Roland Garros (lost to Aryna Sabalenka).