Elina Svitolina

Career success first came to Ukrainian sportswoman, Elina Svitolina, when she was just 15 years old. Back then, the tennis player became the second Ukrainian to win at the junior Roland-Garros - the French open tennis championship. 

Throughout 2014-2017, Svitolina won more than 10 matches against opponents ranked in the global top 10. At the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, she beat the (then) number one tennis player in the world, Serena Williams.

On September 11, 2017, Svitolina set an absolute record in the history of Ukrainian tennis – she took third place in the singles category of the international ranking of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). Previously, Ukrainian players had  never occupied such a high position in neither women’s nor men’s tennis.

“When Gael and I found out about my pregnancy, war broke out in Ukraine. Even now, I cannot describe all my feelings at that moment. It was incredibly painful. I felt powerless, because I could not stop this terrible war,” Svitolina recalls, regarding the beginning of the full-scale war.

Despite the sense of powerlessness, she chose to act anyway. In order to encourage the international community to help Ukraine,  the renowned athlete became the second ambassador for UNITED24 in June 2022 - joining football legend, Andrii Shevchenko.

“Every time I won on the court, I was happy to bring that victory to my country. I have always been proud to be Ukrainian. Today, when my country is facing a terrible enemy, I will not stand aside. I will do everything I can for Ukraine to win its most important victory. It is an honor for me to join UNITED24 and to join forces with the President of Ukraine,” emphasized the outstanding tennis player.

Svitolina recently held her charity evening, during which more than 240,000 euros was raised for the Elina Svitolina Charity Fund. A part of these funds — 57,000 euros — was transferred through the UNITED24 platform for the purchase of generators to power Ukrainian hospitals. Later, she supported the initiative of first lady Olena Zelenska, calling for help with raising funds for ambulances.

“In recent days, I see that foreigners and foreign mass media mention the war in our country less and less. Instead, they are more concerned with their own problems. And this is very unfortunate. As such, none of us can afford to stop under any circumstances - we must speak and act until victory itself,” expressed Svitolina, discussing how the world reacts to the war in Ukraine.

At the start of February 2023, Elina Svitolina returned to her homeland for the first time since the start of the war. She visited Odesa, where she was born, as well as Kyiv. 

“Walking the streets of Kyiv was very difficult psychologically. Seeing this massive difference compared to when I was here last time. It's sad to see what happened to Ukraine,” the tennis player shared her impressions of her visit.

As a UNITED24 ambassador, Elina Svitolina raised money for the restoration of a residential complex at 53, Kyivska St. in Irpin, which was destroyed by enemy shelling.