Svitolina from Odesa wins Heart Award and donates $3,000 prize money to support young athletes

Ukrainian tennis player from Odesa Elina Svitolina won the Heart Award and decided to donate $3 thousand to the Svitolina Foundation

According to the Tribune, the Heart Award is presented to tennis players who have honorably represented their country, demonstrated exceptional courage on the court and outstanding team dedication during their performances at the Billie Jean King Cup throughout the year.

"The winner can donate the prize money to the charity of her choice. Svitolina received $3,000, which she decided to donate to the Svitolina Foundation to support talented tennis players," the statement said.

Elina received 33% of the vote, ahead of American Bernarda Peru (27%), British Sonia Kartal (20%), Canadian Victoria Mboko (13%) and Japanese Yen Shibahara (7%).

Svitolina became the third Ukrainian woman to receive this award since its inception in 2009. Previously, it was won by Angelina Kalinina (2023) and Kateryna Bondarenko (2016).

Earlier, at the WTA250 tournament in Rouen, France, Elina Svitolina, the 18th world number one, was ranked as the top seed. This is due to the fact that most of her rivals played at the tournament in Stuttgart. However, the first seed does not guarantee victory in the tournament - she has to overcome five opponents.

Also, tennis player Diana Yastremska, a native of Odesa, failed to defeat Russian Ekaterina Aleksandrova in the final of the WTA 500 tournament in Linz, Austria. In the first set, the Ukrainian lost 2:6, but in the second set she won 6:3. However, the decisive third set was again won by Diana's opponent - 5:7.

Олеся Ланцман