Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina shared that she has experienced a great deal of “love and support” from the US fans as she made her way to the quarter-finals at Indian Wells after the clash between Trump and Zelensky at the White House.
Last month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump engaged in a tense televised confrontation at the White House. However, the two nations have since reopened diplomatic talks, and Ukraine has expressed its willingness to accept a proposed ceasefire with Russia, as put forward by the United States.
Following this news, Svitolina and her fellow Ukrainian, Marta Kostyuk, have both stated that they have received support from the crowds in California.
Svitolina said: “Since that meeting in the Oval Office, I got a lot of messages of support from the American people, just giving the love and support to Ukrainians for people back at home…. The massive support I have got, considering I played three American girls back to back – yeah, it’s amazing.”
She added: “I feel like I need to play well, it’s something that I try to do for my country. I check the news still every day, there is time for that, and there is time also for tennis… It’s been a very long time that there is only bad news coming from Ukraine.”
Svitolina’s compatriot, Kostyuk, also thanked her fans. Kostyuk shared: “I got a lot of messages and a lot of apologies, which was amazing to receive because you never know how people deal with certain situations and how they react… I’m very thankful for all these people who keep supporting… You are with drivers in the car, and they ask you where you are from, and whenever you say Ukraine, everyone’s like, ‘Oh my God, we are so sorry’… I haven’t received any negativity from people here, so it feels good.”
The 30-year-old Svitolina took five hours, including a nearly three-hour rain delay, to defeat American fourth seed Jessica Pegula with a final scoreline of 5-7, 6-1, 6-2, in the round of 16.
In a social media post, the BNP Paribas Open shared Svitolina’s victory and said: “First Indian Wells QF in 6️⃣ years @elisvitolina hangs tough to defeat Pegula 5-7 6-1 6-2. #TennisParadise”