"I can go home, spend time with my daughter and husband" - Elina Svitolina singles out positives from disastrous opening round defeat at Wimbledon

Elina Svitolina was one of the big names to fall in the first round of Wimbledon. Her 7-5, 6-2 collapse against Daria Snigur was a hugely surprising one following her incredible 2026 season as she cites a chance to rest and spend some time with her family.

After taking a 4-0 lead, there were ominous signs for the former junior Wimbledon champion. However, five games later she was 5-4 ahead in an incredible turnaround. She was broken while serving for the set but broke straight back to love as she saw out the first set in tremendous fashion.

Svitolina was shell-shocked and was unable to keep up with her fellow Ukrainian on court. After edging 2-1 ahead, Svitolina would not win another game at this year's Championships. Snigur collected the final five games to win her second ever match at Wimbledon in only her second main draw appearance.

It was a third top 10 win for the 24-year-old who will take on French qualifier Leolia Jeanjean in the second round. As for Svitolina, she heads home after a hugely disappointing result.

Svitolina's preparation for the tournament was not the best. Following a run to the quarter-final in Berlin, she withdrew from that stage in the Bad Homburg Open citing a hip issue. She unveiled after that match that her condition was not the best it could be, having an impact on proceedings.

"It was a difficult match for me," she said as reported by BTU. "I wouldn’t say that I felt 100%. On grass, obviously, you have to be very, very sharp in your reactions and shots. I think I was just a little out of place. She played well, used her opportunities during the match."

However, she was not pinning all the blame on this. "I wouldn’t single out one thing," she added. "There were several reasons that influenced my performance. I wouldn’t say that I was 100% ready, as I would have liked. Unfortunately, that’s how it is. As I said, grass is not very kind to you. In a way, it’s a very unpredictable surface. When you play against an opponent who feels very comfortable on it and plays very well, everything just comes together."

She was not looking to let those negative emotions cloud her judgement. She looked towards the brighter side of things with a chance to spend some time away from the court with the most special people in her life. "It happens. I try to look at the positive side. Now I will finally have some time to rest. After Roland Garros and the whole busy European leg, I didn't have much time to recover. Finally I can go home, spend time with my daughter and husband, work on some things and recover. That will be my priority. And of course, be ready for the long American leg to try to finish the year strong."

Svitolina played a lot of matches on clay. She won the Rome Open title before reaching the quarter-finals at Roland Garros. On such a physical surface, it did take its toll with her not as fresh for grass as she would have anticipated.

Nevertheless, there was no doubt in her mind that she would be competing at Wimbledon. "Yes, I tried to do my best. I very rarely withdraw from tournaments. I always give myself a chance to get on the court. Sometimes, when you are not playing your best tennis, you do not feel good, and your opponent is playing well, everything just comes together. It is very difficult and very difficult to survive.

"Grass doesn't give you any easy ways to win. So yeah, it just happened that way. I'm not really upset. I guess I'm just trying to look at it on the bright side. The match is over. I really need to move on. Now I have time to rest, work, recover. That's going to be my priority. I'm just moving on. We're halfway through the season. I really refuse to take this tournament as a bad thing. I just want to move on, rest and spend some time with my family."

She attempted to describe her perspective of the ruthless and busy schedule that tennis players have to navigate now. "Of course, it is difficult for us to adapt," he commented. "There are so many tournaments now, and you are always chasing something. If you don’t play for one week, some other players are playing, and you are chasing a rating, a seed or something else. It is always a chase for something.

"When you're really in that fight, sometimes it starts to play in your head. So I think sometimes we just need to take a step back, maybe skip a few tournaments and rest. Sometimes the structure just forces you to play. And it's not for a good reason. So yeah, a lot of players have a really hard time dealing with that. Of course, it affects the level of play, it affects our physical condition."