“Elina held a press conference after reaching the 1/16 finals of the Australian Open 2026”, — write: sport.ua
– Elina, congratulations on the victory. How does it feel to go to the third round again?
– Yes, I am very happy. It’s a good start to the year, for sure. The first set was not easy, but then I felt quite confident on the court. It’s nice to go further again.
– If we talk about the completion of the first set: before the break, everything was very even, then you served for the set. How did you approach this moment – at 6:5?
– I expected that the first set would be difficult, and I understood that the opponent would play well. Young players usually enter the court very charged, hit a lot of winners, very motivated. At such moments, you need to be patient, use experience, stay in the match, “dig deeper” and try to take the first set. After that, if the game is going, it gets a little easier. So it was nice to get this set.
– At the end of last season, you took a break and said that you were burnt out. Was it more physical or mental exhaustion?
– Rather mental. Physically, of course, after many months of playing at a high level, you get tired, but psychologically, I was a little “disconnected”. Sometimes you need to take a step back, move away a bit, to regroup and come back with new energy.
– How different do you feel now compared to August–in September? Do you feel like a different player? And is this break the reason why you are playing so well now?
– Undoubtedly. If I had forced myself to finish the season, I probably wouldn’t have been able to start this year in Australia. I would be completely “dead” mentally and physically. I could get injured in that mental state because when you push yourself and play at the highest level, with my style of play, it really pushes you beyond what you can do.
It was important for me to take a step back. Yes, I was sorry that I didn’t give myself a chance to compete for the Finals or return to the top 10, but it was the right decision. Now I feel fresher, ready for difficult situations in matches. And I think the matches I had in Oakland and a few years ago, when I was faced with difficult situations, showed that I’m ready to accept the fact that sometimes things don’t go according to plan, and you have to fight, dig deeper and find a way to win.
– Did you watch Oliynykova’s match against Madison Keys yesterday?
– Unfortunately, only a few draws, because at that time I had training.
– How do you like her playing style? Nowadays, players with such an unusual and unorthodox tennis style rarely appear.
– Yes, of course, she brings something new to the game. There are several such players and it is always interesting to watch how they build plays, how they create a game. It is very impressive for her to start her first Grand Slam tournament playing well in her own style. This is very uncomfortable tennis. I think she will be a particularly difficult opponent on clay, and to beat her, you will have to work really hard.
– After her match, Oliinikova said that she thinks it is wrong to admit Russian and Belarusian players to tournaments as long as they are eliminated from competing in other sports. Do you agree with this?
– The war has been going on for four years. We talked about it many times, and for me this topic has already… gone. The decisions were made by the WTA, and now we can only go out on the court, try to show a good result, represent our country properly, use our voices to draw attention, help and remember that we can use our voices to draw attention to our homeland.
