Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina knocked top seed Iga Swiatek out of Wimbledon in the quarterfinals, extending her remarkable return from childbirth.
Svitolina, a former world No. 3 who gave birth to daughter Skaï on Oct. 15, ousted Swiatek 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-2 to reach a Thursday semifinal against 42nd-ranked Czech Marketa Vondrousova.
“I’m going to have a beer, probably,” to celebrate, said Svitolina, who has beaten four major champions in five matches. “At the beginning of the tournament, if someone would tell me that I will be in the semifinal and beating world No. 1, I would just say that they are crazy.”
Vondrousova beat No. 4 seed Jessica Pegula 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. Pegula squandered a 4-1 lead in the final set to fall to 0-6 in major quarterfinals.
Svitolina, 28, made at least one major quarterfinal every year from 2017 through 2021, including the semifinals at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2019.
She married French player Gael Monfils one week before the Tokyo Olympics, then won a singles bronze medal.
Svitolina played her last match before maternity leave on March 24, 2022, one month after Russia invaded her country.
Svitolina returned to competition in April. In May, she won the tournament preceding the French Open, then reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros.
“Having a child, and war, made me a different person. I look at the things a bit differently,” she said. “War made me stronger and also made me, like, mentally stronger. Mentally I don’t take difficult situations as like a disaster, you know? There are worse things in life. I’m just more calmer.”
Swiatek, a four-time major champion, had the best Wimbledon main draw run of her career to reach the quarters.
