‘I was inspired’ – Elina Svitolina in awe of Naomi Osaka after ‘amazing’ display against Iga Swiatek

Elina Svitolina's comeback was one of the stories of the 2023 season as the Ukrainian returned from giving birth to her first child to reach the French Open quarter-finals and Wimbledon semi-finals. Now, she says she is "inspired" by Naomi Osaka's return to top form following maternity leave after the four-time major winner "played like she never left" in a thrilling loss to Iga Swiatek.

Elina Svitolina said she was “inspired” by fellow mum Naomi Osaka after watching the former world No. 1 play “like she had never left” in a thrilling match against Iga Swiatek.

Osaka led by a break in the final set and had match point before top seed and defending champion Swiatek roared back to claim victory in a French Open classic.

The performance of the Japanese four-time major winner was her best since returning to the tour after missing the entire 2023 season on maternity leave.

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Svitolina also made a remarkable comeback after childbirth in 2023, returning from a year out to reach the Roland-Garros quarter-finals and Wimbledon semi-finals.

The Ukrainian 15th seed defeated Diane Parry 6-4 7-6(3) on Thursday, and later spoke in her press conference of her admiration for Osaka.

“I was inspired by that tennis, by the resilience. Really, it was an amazing match,” Svitolina said.

Highlights: Swiatek completes stunning Osaka comeback in French Open classic

Video credit: TNT Sports

“I was surprised by the level of Naomi, especially on clay. We all know that she can strike a ball extremely well on hard courts and it’s a big challenge to play against her on hard.  

“I was a bit surprised by her performance yesterday because she played like she never left and was playing amazing. Hopefully now she can build on this and I’m sure she will come back even stronger.

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“It’s quite early still in her comeback but I’m sure she is going to bounce back and we’re going to see more and more great matches.

“I played against her in Miami as well, so I experienced she’s getting stronger every single week and coming back to her great level already.”  

Svitolina will face Ana Bogdan or 20th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the third round in Paris.

French Open highlights - Svitolina shows class to defeat France's Parry

Video credit: TNT Sports

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