Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina was ‘very sad’ to lose her Wimbledon quarter-final in front of the Queen but has thanked Her Majesty for watching the match.
Elena Rybakina conjured up a dominant 6-3 6-2 performance on Centre Court to knock out the 21st-seed, who has been wearing a black ribbon in SW19 this year.
Svitolina broke down in tears at the Championships on Monday in a public on-court interview after Russia’s reported attack on a children’s hospital in Kyiv.
The 29-year-old has now been eliminated but sent a classy message to Queen Camilla in her post-match press conference.
Asked what it was like to have the Queen in the Royal Box, given the royal family’s support for Ukraine, Svitolina said: ‘To be fair, I didn’t know [she was there].
‘Yes, it’s very sad for me because I couldn’t win this match today in front of her.
‘But of course, it’s such a big privilege to play Wimbledon in front of the Queen, even though I didn’t know.
‘Yeah, the support that Ukraine been getting from United Kingdom has been really unbelievable.
‘We couldn’t thank enough for all the people, as well, that let a lot of Ukrainians use their homes, share their homes with them.
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‘Of course, it’s something bigger than sport. Yeah, unbelievable support that all the Ukrainians got from England.’
Svitolina has also sent a message to new Prime Minister Keir Starmer as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues.
‘I hope he’s aware with the help we got before, from the government before,’ she added. ‘I hope this will continue because it’s really, really important for us. Every day is not getting easy.
‘It’s not getting easier, it’s getting really tougher and tougher for us. Hopefully the support will continue. I feel like we got unbelievable support before, and I hope this will continue really because it’s super important for us.’
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