SVITOLINA: “It was an extremely tense match. I’m happy with how I showed myself”

Ukraine’s first racket Elina Svitolina (WTA 12) held a flash interview on the court after defeating Mirra Andreeva in the fourth round match at the 2026 Australian Open:

– This is truly incredible. I am very happy with my performance today, I had to fight until the last point. It was an extremely tense match and I am very happy with my performance.

– You played with Mira last year and lost to her. What did you do to win today? The second set was very competitive. What do you think you did well today?

“I was expecting a tough fight and a lot of long rallies. I tried to move really well today, tried to stay very focused and tried to find the little weak points in his game, tried to exploit them.”

– You seemed very calm today. You weren’t calm, but you were very focused and concentrated. You said that your husband, Gael Monfils, tells you that sometimes you should be more relaxed. This was his advice. Looks like you actually followed that advice today.

– I wasn’t very comfortable today (laughs). So he won’t be happy, but I think he might be happy with my victory today. The saddest thing is when you lose matches. For most of your career you lose games every week and you have to recover, get back on the field and try to work, try again the next week and try to play better the next week.

– After the first round you had some time and played throughout the day. You said you had time and you were going to take Gael’s credit card and go shopping. Apparently it worked because you won. Maybe you should keep doing this. How will this affect Gail’s credit card?

– I’m not sure we’ll see him in the next match. It needs to fly away. These are the enjoyable moments we spend together both on and off the field. So of course it’s great to have him by my side.

– Your daughter Skye is still young. He may not be boxing, but can you tell me a little about him? Will you celebrate with him today? What will it look like?

– We will communicate with the whole family via FaceTime. Luckily it’s daytime in Europe, so we can do this and enjoy this moment together. He knows we play tennis and it’s our job, but he thinks all parents play tennis professionally (laughs). This is of course nice, but I think he will be an athlete one day. Let’s see how it will be for him.

– So will we see trainer Elina and trainer Gael in boxing?

– Maybe in another sport. I think tennis will be too much for us (laughs).

– To relax. You still have a lot of tennis ahead of you. See you in the quarter finals.