ROLAND GARROS

May 27, 2026

Elina Svitolina

Press Conference

E. SVITOLINA/K. Quevedo

6-0, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Elina, another strong performance here today. How did you feel on court? What do you think was your advantage today?

ELINA SVITOLINA: I think the match was good for my side, even though Kaitlin came back and in the second was playing much better than the first. I thought so.

Yeah, it was a good performance from my side. Very happy the way I could handle that second set with a good performance, because she had challenged me in the second.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. You are an inspiration of so many women. You are also a mother. You are improving with your age. What is the formula that keeps you improving? And your body language changed. It's better. You seem very confident and playing your best tennis.

ELINA SVITOLINA: Thank you. So many compliments (laughing). I just try to improve myself every practice, every match, every tournament that I play.

I think I draw motivation from different things, from different people as well, I think also, you know, from people in Ukraine. And the war in Ukraine really gave me a different perspective on life, and also my family, my daughter.

I feel like I use my time more wisely now. As soon as I'm on the court, I give 100% there. If I'm not mentally or physically ready to be there 100%, I'm not doing it.

Just going back home, spending quality time at home, being there for my daughter and then, yeah, just give it 100% whatever I do and not wasting my time too much on outside things and things that can disturb me or not making me happy.

Q. I was wondering, when you came back from maternity leave, you started working with Raemon Sluiter, and you also started playing so much more aggressive than before you went away. How much has he been a part of the change in your game?

ELINA SVITOLINA: Yeah, definitely. I started to work with him in the beginning of my comeback and made a big impact on my game. I'm really thankful for all the work that he done with me and all the difficult journey, you know, of the comeback and that he agreed actually to be on this journey with me, because I think not everybody really wants to take the journey when you don't know how it's going to be and starting from zero.

Okay, I had a great career before maternity, but in a way, you don't know how your body is going to react and how fit you're going to be on constant basis, because tennis requires you to be very consistent.

So, yeah, we did a great, I think it was, four months or three months of hard work when I was coming back before starting playing tournaments. Of course, not very, like, first four or five tournaments were a big tricky. I couldn't find my game. Lost two tournaments in a row from the match points.

So, yeah, it was not easy, but I'm very happy. He's a great person, and, of course, a great player himself in the past. I think done a great job with the players.

Yeah, just really enjoyed my time with him. Yeah, just happy that he's been on this journey with me.

Q. A few days ago Marta Kostyuk showed us the picture of a blast of a Russian missile very close to her parents' house. She criticized the tour for not supporting Ukrainian players. Yesterday Oleksandra Oliynykova also called out the Russian players saying they don't care that Ukrainians are dying. What is your experience of having to live through the war and being on tour with Russian players?

ELINA SVITOLINA: It's, I think, not news that it is like this. It's been like that for four years. I'm kind of already, you know, not thinking too much about that.

It's, of course, very sad for us, because we're still -- as the situation like Marta's, for example, is very heavy to wake up to the news that your family is in a huge danger during the night, and you are hopeless in this way.

So, of course, been living with this for, you know, years, and now to talk about it again, for me I think we analyzed this already in the past. We know the reaction that we get of not reaction, no reaction at all.

In a way for me it's how I can be useful for my country, how I can help the next generation of motivating them, introducing them to sport, and helping them with that, because that's the only way that I see things going forward.

Because just doing something that you cannot control everything and everybody, so in a way, me personally, I want to control what I can control is the things that how I can be useful for my country.

Q. Elina, I'm doing a piece on the weather, and I want to ask you how does the heat affect you on the court? Also, game-wise how the courts play, and does that work for you? Does that not work for you? If you can just talk a little bit about that.

ELINA SVITOLINA: I think in tennis you are used to adjust. Every single day is a very different story. Even when you are playing same tournaments, you can play in the morning, you can play at night. It will be completely different conditions.

You cannot control the weather. So as soon as you wake up, me personally, I check the weather every time. A couple of days ahead as well to see how I need to adjust my tension or my preparation.

If it's hot, I will start hydrating myself the day before and eating correctly for this particular day. So for me it's all the small things that can affect you and that you can control in this case.

So, yeah, weather is always tricky for us. I feel like, yeah, when it's so hot, you just are trying to survive, not only playing against the opponent, but also playing against the conditions.

So, yeah, it's like this, unfortunately, in tennis, but I think it's the sweetness of it.

Q. You're coming from many weeks since the beginning of the year with a constant good level and rising. What decision you are doing well since the end of last year where you decide to say it's too much for me that you are monitoring wisely and better to have this constant, good performance?

ELINA SVITOLINA: Yeah, for me it was important to listen to my body, you know, to learn to really how my body is reacting to the heavy load.

Of course, you know, after pregnancy my body is very different to what it was before. Maybe when I was younger, when I was 25, I was able to play week in, week out in a way more easy, more consistent.

It would not take as much energy out of me as it is now. Now I have to also take into consideration that my body went to pregnancy, and I have to maybe sometimes just stop and give myself not one day off, but maybe two days or three days off just to really restore this energy and, yeah, have this kind of like fresh outlook for the practice or for the tournament or just, yeah, give myself a bit more time to adjust to the conditions or just give myself rest.

Sometimes the muscles, you know, they are not reacting as well as you wish, and you need to listen to yourself and really rest and relax to win after, you know, in the long-term.

I think it's more about seeing the full picture and, yeah, just really giving it 100% at the right time.