Ukrainian tennis player Lyudmyla Kichenok won the mixed title at Wimbledon alongside Croatian Mate Pavic and dedicated this Grand Slam triumph to her war-torn homeland.
“I really hope that this will help the people of Ukraine because they are fighting for their freedom,” said the 30-year-old after beating the Belgian 6-4, 6-7 (9-11), 6-3 in the final Joran Vliegen and Xu Yifan from China.
The crowd on Center Court gave Kichenok a long standing ovation as the trophy was handed over. The win marked the first Grand Slam title for Kichenok, a former top 10 doubles player. Pavic, once number one in doubles, celebrated his sixth Grand Slam title (three doubles and three times mixed).
On Thursday, Kichenok’s compatriot Elina Svitolina missed out on the singles final after losing to Marketa Vondrousova from the Czech Republic.