Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina held a press conference after defeating Daria Kasatakina (6:4, 7:6) at the 2023 French Open.
Elina thanked Daria for her position on the war in Ukraine:
– I definitely appreciated the game. I am very grateful to Kasatkina for her position, which she took. Yes, she is indeed a brave person to say this publicly, which not many players have done. She is brave.
– In the quarterfinals you will play with Sobolenko, you know about the political part around this, which concerns her. How do you feel and how do you think your match in Ukraine will look?
– Well, I played the last two matches against Russian players, so nothing will change, everything will be the same. I’m used to it now, so it will be the same.
– You spoke about pressure from the media. I hope that you will take this press conference as a good opportunity to express your opinion, your personal view of things. Could you tell us a little about your thoughts on holding these kinds of press conferences?
– Well, I think it’s good that there is a press conference, because the players share their thoughts. Players share moments they’ve had on and off the court. So that people can see how they feel, what they are going through, because everyone, for sure, would like to talk to a tennis player to ask him how they felt there on the court, what they went through. So I think holding a press conference is great. It’s also like giving back to the fans, people who love sports.
In the quarterfinals of Roland Garros Svitolina will play with Arina Sobolenko.
