Elina Svitolina Upsets No. 1 Iga Świątek at Wimbledon 9 Months After Giving Birth

Elina Svitolina is into the Wimbledon semifinals for the second time in her career, but this one comes just nine months after she gave birth to her first child with husband Gaël Monfils.

Unseeded coming into the tournament, Svitolina upset No. 1 Iga Świątek 7-5, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2 in Tuesday's quarterfinal match.

Svitolina announced the birth of her daughter, Skaï Monfils, in an Oct. 15 post on Twitter.

Svitolina went one full year without playing competitive tennis. In an Instagram post from March 29, 2022, the 28-year-old announced she was going to take a break to focus on her physical and mental health.

A few weeks later, Svitolina and Monfils announced she was pregnant with their first child. She made her return to the court in April as a wild-card entry against Yulia Putintseva in the Charleston Open.

Putintseva won the match in three sets. Svitolina's first match win was over Despina Papamichail at the L'Open 35 de Saint Malo in France. She advanced to the semifinals in that tournament before losing to Sloane Stephens.

The French Open was Svitolina's first Grand Slam event since the 2022 Australian Open. She won four matches before falling to Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals.

Svitolina was given a wild-card entry into Wimbledon and defeated Venus Williams in the first round. She followed that up with wins over three ranked opponents, including Elise Mertens, Victoria Azarenka and Świątek.

The last time Svitolina reached the semifinals at Wimbledon, she lost to Simona Halep in straight sets in 2019.

Svitolina has never reached the final at a Grand Slam tournament in her career. She will take on Marketa Vondrousova in the semifinal on Thursday.