Kalinina to use Wimbledon prize money to rebuild family home in Ukraine

Some players dream of playing at Wimbledon at least once in their career. For others, the possibility they might one day win the title pushes them to incredible lengths. For some, merely winning a match at Wimbledon is worth much more than that.

For Anhelina Kalinina, a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 winner over Anna Bondar on Monday, the £78,000 she is guaranteed for reaching round two will go toward helping her family rebuild their home in Ukraine, which, she revealed, has been bombed by Russian forces.

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“It’s hard to focus, but for me it matters if I win or if I lose,” she said, after setting up a second-round match with another Ukrainian player, Lesia Tsurenko. “I’m not only helping my family, I’m helping other families and other people. It’s a privilege to play here. It’s a privilege to play every tournament. [If] you go further, you earn more money. Then I’m able to help, and I’m helping as much as I can and not only to my family. So for me that matters.”

It was Tsurenko, a 6-2, 6-3 winner over British wildcard Jodie Burrage, who first passed on the news about Kalinina’s family home. Kalinina, the No 29 seed, said the family were now living in her own apartment in Ukraine while their house was being restored.

“First of all, their house was attacked. There are huge holes in the house, like huge holes,” she said. “There are no apartments anymore. So now this home is getting rebuilt, so they can’t live there. So they live in my apartment where I’m living with my husband.

“It’s a very small apartment for my family, because, like, my mum, my dad, my brother, and they have pets. Currently, they are rebuilding the house. Now they are at home safe. They