MUBADALA DC OPEN

July 30, 2026

Elina Svitolina

Quick Quotes

E. SVITOLINA/P. Kudermetova

7-6, 6-4

Q. Obviously been a bit since you played, the gap between Wimbledon and here. How anxious were you to kind of get back on the court?

ELINA SVITOLINA: Yeah, I was really happy actually that I had opportunity to play here and was eager to get back on track.

Not an easy second round, I would say. She has couple of matches already, and for me it was the first one, but I'm happy that I could handle the first set and just get back as quick as I can, find the opportunity to win.

Q. I was going to ask about just not necessarily her, but the first match back on court. I know it was the second round, but for you it was your first one of the tournament. How nerve-wracking can the first-round matches be, especially when it's not necessarily against another top-10 player?

ELINA SVITOLINA: Yeah, I was not expecting to play perfectly the first match. Of course, you know, when you have break, when you just not played competitively for a bit, it's not easy. I think she played quite well for the second-round match.

Her game is quite big with a big shot, so yeah, I missed couple of opportunities, but in the end, I'm just happy with the way I handled myself and the nerves and the tiebreak in the first set, and then the game was much better from my side.

Q. Then tomorrow night obviously you'll play Alex for the second time this year. Maybe you've noticed in the grounds in D.C., there's a big Filipino fan base here. Your thoughts on playing her on hard court and then maybe the crowd factor. I don't know if you experienced that in Berlin.

ELINA SVITOLINA: No, not too much, to be fair. To be fair, I'm not thinking too much about it. I know that she gets lots of support around the world, but for me it will be all about the recovery right now.

Just happy with the win today, and I draw the confidence from that going into the quarterfinal match. It's another opportunity for me to play a good level match and hopefully to make another step in the tournament.