Ukranian tennis player Elina Svitolina had plans for July 8. Really, really important plans that included seeing international superstar singer Harry Styles perform in Vienna. Instead, she had to cancel them so she could play in the fourth round of Wimbledon against No. 19 Victoria Azarenka.
Ranked No. 76, Svitolina must not have thought she’d make it this far in the prestigious tennis tournament when she bought the tickets. Instead, she moved steadily through each round, dropping just one set and beating the likes of Venus Williams, No. 28 Elise Mertens and Sofia Kenin to set up the match with Azarenka.
While she may have missed out on seeing the incredible Harry’s House album performed live in Vienna, it (was probably) worth it to get the win and move on to the quarterfinals.
Post match, Svitolina said she hoped Harry was watching.
"Well, I hope Harry was watching" 🫶
This was worth missing @Harry_Styles, right @ElinaSvitolina? 😅#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/hqg3nrhaeT
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 9, 2023
But her dream of seeing Styles in concert isn’t over. Thanks to some tagging and the moment going viral, Harry himself saw that she missed the show and used an Instagram reply to invite her to any of his remaining four shows in Europe.
Harry Styles congratulated Elina Svitolina on her win today at Wimbledon
Yesterday, she was trying to give away her Harry Styles tickets because she was playing Wimbledon
Today, she has her favorite singer congratulating her
Elina’s day just got even better.
🥹❤️ pic.twitter.com/2BcLzx7tol
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) July 9, 2023
Svitolina next plays on July 11. If she keeps winning, she would play in the semifinals on July 13 and the finals July 15. Styles’ four remaining shows are July 12 (Barcelona, Spain), July 14 (Lavaplés, Spain), July 18 (Lisbon, Portugal) and July 22 (Reggio Emilia, Italy).
Sounds like this could work, “As it Was.”