In a winning return to Grand Slam tennis following a one-year maternity break, Elina Svitolina secured a commanding 6-2, 6-2 victory over Italy’s Martina Trevisan. Svitolina also used her platform to bring attention to the ongoing war in her home country of Ukraine, expressing frustration at the lack of focus on the suffering caused by Russia’s invasion.
However, the tournament saw some early upsets as Petra Kvitova, the tenth seed and former champion, suffered a surprising 6-3, 6-4 defeat against Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto. Additionally, Swiss player Belinda Bencic, the Olympic champion, fell short, losing 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 against lucky loser Elina Avanesyan.
