Elina Svitolina wins prestigious tennis award for her Billie Jean King Cup performance - video
Ukraine’s top tennis player Elina Svitolina has been awarded the prestigious Heart Award for her performance at Billie Jean King Cup.
The award is presented to female tennis players who have honorably represented their countries, demonstrated exceptional courage on the court, and shown outstanding commitment to their national teams throughout the Billie Jean King Cup season.
In April of this year, Svitolina helped Ukraine's Team reach the final round of the Billie Jean King Cup for the first time in history, securing two crucial victories in the qualifiers against Poland and Switzerland.
Svitolina received 33% of the vote, ahead of the U.S. Bernarda Pera (27%), the UK's Sonay Kartal (20%), Canada’s Victoria Mboko (13%), and Japan’s Ena Shibahara (7%).
Ukraine's top-ranked player commented on receiving the prestigious award:
"It’s a great honor for me to receive the Heart Award," she said.
"Thank you to everyone who voted for me. This year, playing for Ukraine felt especially meaningful. Representing my country in such a difficult time is a huge motivation.
I’ve decided to donate the $3,000 prize to the Svitolina Foundation, which supports young talent. Thank you once again for this recognition. It truly means a lot."
Svitolina becomes the third Ukrainian to win the Heart Award since its establishment in 2009. The previous Ukrainian recipients were Anhelina Kalinina (2023) and Kateryna Bondarenko (2016).
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