After 64 minutes, Svitolina finished it off with a backhand down the line before fighting back tears and hitting her chest hard several times. After shaking hands with Potapova, the visibly emotional Svitolina thanked the audience with a hand on her heart.
“It’s a special victory because of what we’re going through in Ukraine, it’s terrifying,” said Svitolina (27). “It has been six days and all the Ukrainian tennis players and Ukrainians who are here are really terrified of what is happening.”
At the beginning of this week, Svitolina announced that she will donate all the prize money she earns in Mexico – and also at the upcoming tournaments in the United States – to the Ukrainian army. ,,This is a special tournament for me”, said Svitolina. “All my prize money goes to the Ukrainian army so thank you for all the support.”
Svitolina initially did not want to act against Potapova and demanded measures from the responsible authorities. On Tuesday it was decided that Russian tennis players may continue to participate, but not under the flag of their own country.