Wimbledon Tennis Women’s Singles Semifinals.
‘Hope icon’ Svitolina loses 0-2
Won the mixed doubles title with Kichenok on the same day.

The run of Elina Svitolina (29-76), who brought hope to Ukrainians amid the pain of war, came to a halt in the fourth round. But Lyudmila Kyshenok, 31, gave her country another reason to celebrate as she became the first Ukrainian player to reach the top of the Wimbledon mixed doubles draw.

Svitolina lost 0-2 (3-6, 3-6) to Marketa Bondrowsova (24-Czech Republic-42nd) in the women’s singles semifinals at Wimbledon on Thursday. Despite falling short of the final, Svitolina has emerged as an icon of hope. After giving birth to her daughter last October, Svitolina returned to the tour in April and reached the quarterfinals of the French Open. In the quarterfinals, she defeated world number one Iga Sibyontek (22-Poland). Svitolina, who entered the tournament as a wildcard after more than a year of Russian aggression in her home country of Ukraine, drew support from her countrymen and fans around the world as she defeated top-ranked players day after day.

“I had so many people supporting me throughout the tournament,” Svitolina said. It was a great motivation, but also a great responsibility. I hope the people of Ukraine will continue to support us in the future. “Right now I’m upset that we didn’t make it to the final, but I hope we have another chance (to win the title),” she cried. “Believe in yourself in any situation and keep fighting for your dreams,” he said when asked what message he would like to send to people through this match.

In the mixed doubles final on the same day, Kichenok, ranked 15th in the world, teamed up with Mate Pavic (30-Croatia-17th) to defeat the pair of Joran Flijn (30-Belgium-25th)-Xu Yifan (35-China-27th) 2-1 (6-4, 6-7, 6-3). This is the first major title for a Ukrainian player since Alona Bondarenko-Kateryna Bondarenko won the women’s doubles title at the 2008 Australian Open. “I wanted to give courage to the Ukrainian people, and I hope it will help those who are fighting for their freedom,” Kyshenok said. 한국야동 In her first Wimbledon appearance in 2014, Kyshenok won her first final in nine years.