Elina Svitolina makes a startling admission about her trips home to Ukraine.
The former world number three is discussing visiting her troubled homeland and how it fits in with life as a new mother.
Her husband, fellow tennis player Gael Monfils, is, she reveals, “really worried” about her safety.
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But Svitolina told the PA news agency: “Of course it’s unsafe because the country’s in a state of war. I have to plan it really well with the safety measures and be careful always. But mentally I feel safer in Ukraine than anywhere else in the world.”
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine coincided with the early stages of Svitolina’s pregnancy – baby Skai was born in October – and she was absent from the match court for a year.
As one of Ukraine’s most high-profile sportspeople, the hiatus gave her an opportunity to dive fully into doing what she could to support her compatriots.
Alongside family snaps and pictures of her on-court exploits, Svitolina’s Instagram feed features images of her highlighting the heartbreaking damage caused to Ukraine and in meetings with president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
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Along with former Ukraine footballer Andriy Shevchenko, the 28-year-old is an ambassador for United24, the country’s official fundraising platform, while her own foundation, set up to support young tennis players, has widened its remit to provide relief for Ukrainian refugees.
Former boxer Vitali Klitschko made the switch from sport to politics and has a prominent role in Ukraine as mayor of Kyiv, but Svitolina is content with using her sporting profile to help her country.
“I’ve been quite interested in politics, and especially this time when I was pregnant, I have lots of friends who have different positions in Ukrainian politics and many friends as well who know a lot about it,” she said.
“But I never really wanted to go that way. I just want to be aware what is happening in my country, to learn and to understand how we can help at different levels for the people.
“I’m really happy with the position I have right now, using my platform, using my voice in every possible way through sports. This is my way and I feel I’m in the right place, and I want to use it as much as possible to help people.”
Next week sees Svitolina return to Wimbledon, where her best performance was a run to the semi-finals in 2019.
Svitolina’s ranking was not high enough to earn her direct entry into the championships but the All England Club awarded her a wild card.
She will hope to make a similar impression to her emotional French Open return, where she followed up a WTA Tour title in Strasbourg by reaching the quarter-finals to propel her back into the top 100.
“For sure it was a great step forward for me,” said Svitolina, who only returned to the tour in April.
“I played really well in Strasbourg, Roland Garros was a great run for me, so I’m really happy I could find again this fighting spirit, playing well under pressure. Hopefully I can build on that. I’m really motivated to go back on the practice court and find again my good game and my good mindset.”
Svitolina will hope, also, that the Wimbledon crowd are more generous should she face a Russian or Belarusian player after she was booed in Paris for sticking to the Ukrainian position of not shaking hands with opponents from the two aggressor nations.
She knows she has work to do on grass, which is not such a natural surface for her, and her first match in Birmingham last week ended in a one-sided loss to Czech teenager Linda Fruhvirtova.
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Svitolina now has to juggle training with life as a mother and managing the conflicting feelings of spending time away from Skai.
“It’s not easy, especially a performance like (against Fruhvirtova), it makes you feel not great,” she says.
“But me and Gael decided it’s going to be a better way for her as well to not travel so much because it’s very draining travelling, different zones. She will be coming to London if we both play there so it will be nice to spend some time together.
“I think the hardest thing is for sure being away from the baby. Also finding the mindset again, playing matches. Physically I feel I’m there and I’m hitting fine but the mindset of being in the match and being focused from the start until the end, this has been the most challenging to me.”
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Always on her mind as well will be Ukraine and Svitolina is already thinking of when she might be able to return to her home city of Odesa.
“I’m looking to go back home in the near future,” she says. “I don’t know exactly when, maybe in a few months, maybe half a year. Obviously the tennis season is packed with tournaments but, as soon as I have the opportunity, I will definitely plan to go there.
“I want to see my grandmother, who is there, my dad was there as well for a couple of weeks. And just to see my friends, to go back to my home. I really miss my country and especially what is now happening, lots of damage to a lot of the cities that mean a lot to me.”
'It can only get better' - Sabalenka leaving Madrid Open 'with positive thoughts' despite Swiatek defeat
Aryna Sabalenka is encouraged by her run to the Madrid Open final and feels her performance levels "can only get better", despite defeat by Iga Swiatek.
In a repeat of last year's showpiece, the world number two went down 7-5 4-6 7-6 (9-7) in a thrilling encounter with the Pole, who avenged her loss from 12 months ago.
Sabalenka, who saw three championship points go begging, narrowly missed out on becoming only the second woman to win three titles in Madrid after Petra Kvitova.
Nevertheless, the reigning Australian Open champion reached her first final since triumphing in Melbourne, while extending her winning streak in the Spanish capital to 11 matches before defeat to the world number one.
"I really want to see many more finals against [Swiatek]. I want to see more wins than losses," she said. "But I really hope that we'll be able to keep the level or increase the level every year.
"I'm happy with the level I played, with the effort I put into this match and into this week. I'm leaving Madrid with positive thoughts.
"Probably when I broke [Swiatek] in the third set, I should have been more focused on my serve. But at the same time, it's not like I double-faulted; she played great tennis, and she broke me back.
"I think after the Australian Open, I struggled for a couple of months. It's been intense. I'm super happy that, here in Madrid, I was able to bring it all together and be able to get back to my level. It can only get better from now on."
Swiatek was not to be denied a third title of the season - a tally only matched by Elena Rybakina - and she has now won each of her last seven WTA Tour-level finals since losing out to Sabalenka in Madrid last year.
The three-time French Open champion has also now triumphed in every European clay court tournament at WTA 500 level or higher.
"When I look back in maybe a few years, it will mean a lot," the Pole said. "But for now, I'm just happy that I won this tournament anyway. It doesn't matter to me if I won it before or not. I try to win each tournament that I play.
"I think it was more about who was going to be less stressed and who was going to be able to play with more freedom.
"For most of the match, I felt like some decisions [from her] were pretty courageous. I was sometimes a little bit back. So, in the end, I just wanted not to do that and to also be courageous.
"I don't know what made a difference. I think we both deserved to win; I think it was only about those little points in the tiebreaker."
Swiatek topples Sabalenka in thrilling Madrid Open final
Iga Swiatek clinched the Madrid Open title after downing defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in a gruelling final.
In a rematch of last year's final, the top two players in the world did battle in thrilling fashion on Saturday, with Swiatek eventually prevailing 7-5 4-6 7-6 (9-7) after three hours and 14 minutes on court.
It marked Swiatek's first title in Madrid, and the Pole had to do it the hard way, saving three championship points before finally coming out on top in the tie-break, which she sealed with her second championship point when Sabalenka sent a backhand long.
This victory means Swiatek, who has won the French Open on three occasions, has now won every European clay court tournament at WTA 500 level or higher.
It was also Swiatek's seventh victory over Sabalenka, from what was their 10th meeting.
Data Debrief: Clay queen Swiatek rolls on
Swiatek has now won her past seven WTA Tour-level finals, since the defeat to Sabalenka in Madrid last season, while only Elena Rybakina can match her haul of three titles so far in 2024.
This was the longest singles final of the year so far on the WTA Tour, while it was the fourth show-piece match in a WTA 1000 event to be decided by a third set tie-break.
Since the format’s introduction in 2009, only Serena Williams (13) and Victoria Azarenka (10) have more WTA 1000 titles than Swiatek, whose tally of nine equals the efforts of Simona Halep and Petra Kvitova.
Meanwhile, of players to have made at least 10 appearances at clay court tournaments, only Chris Evert, Margaret Court and Steffi Graf have a higher ratio of victories in the Open Era than Swiatek (8/18).
In fact, Swiatek has now claimed a tournament victory in 31 per cent (9/29) of the WTA 1000 main draws she has entered, the highest percentage of any player since the format’s introduction in 2009.
Sinner joins Alcaraz in withdrawing from Italian Open
Jannik Sinner has joined Carlos Alcaraz in withdrawing from the Italian Open due to injury.
Sinner, who pulled out of his quarter-final tie with Felix Auger-Aliassime at the Madrid Open this week, is suffering with a hip issue.
It means the world number two will not participate in what would have been a home tournament in Rome, in what is sure to be a disappointment to the Italian fans.
"It is not easy to write this message but after speaking again with the doctors and specialists about my hip problems I have to announce that unfortunately I will not be able to play in Rome," he wrote on X.
"Obviously I'm very sad that I didn't recover, it being one of my favourite tournaments ever. I couldn't wait to come back and play at home in front of the Italian crowd."
Sinner added he was focusing on recovering in time to play at the French Open, which starts towards the end of May.
On Friday, world number one Alcaraz withdrew from the Italian Open due to an arm problem.
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