Tennis Triumph Amid Tragedy: Elina Svitolina's Emotional Wimbledon Victory

Elina Svitolina advanced to the Wimbledon quarter-finals, but her heart remained with her war-torn homeland, Ukraine, following a devastating Russian airstrike on a children's hospital in Kyiv. The Odesa-born player, overwhelmed with emotion, wore a black ribbon and dedicated her victory to raising awareness and support for her fellow Ukrainians.

Elina Svitolina powered into the Wimbledon quarter-finals on Monday, but the result became secondary for the tearful Ukrainian player, whose thoughts were with her homeland after a Russian airstrike on a children's hospital in Kyiv. Shortly after her 6-2 6-1 victory over China's Wang Xinyu, Svitolina broke down in tears during her on-court interview.

'It's a difficult day for Ukrainian people,' Svitolina said before breaking down. The Odesa-born player revealed that she had wanted to stay in her room to process her emotions. 'When you have these sad days where you don't want to do anything, it was this kind of day for me,' she added.

Russia hit the children's hospital with a missile in broad daylight and rained missiles on other cities across Ukraine, killing at least 36 civilians in the deadliest wave of airstrikes for months. The Russian Defence Ministry stated that its forces had targeted defence industry targets and aviation bases in Ukraine, denying hitting civilian structures.

(With inputs from agencies.)