"I wanted to bring this small light to them": Svitolina discusses reasoning behind donating prize money to Ukrainian kids

Elina Svitolina made a winning start at Roland Garros explaining that all of her motivation is coming from the situation back home wanting to give some joy to the people in Ukraine.

Svitolina has been at the forefront of many charitable actions which benefitted the people of Ukraine as her city of Odesa was impacted by the war directly. She travelled to the country and spearheaded many relief efforts during pregnancy and it was a very testing time for the player. Now a mother, Svitolina has found a new appreciation for kids back home who are dealing with some of the worst things a person can experience.

She donated all of her prize money from that event to the kids of Ukraine explaining that:

“They’re our future. It’s tough to see kids scared, not knowing what’s in front of them. I wanted to bring this small light to them, to their lives”