Svitolina loses at Charleston Open in 1st match as a mom

By HOWARD FENDRICH
AP Tennis Writer

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Two-time Grand Slam semifinalist Elina Svitolina played a WTA match for the first time as a mother and lost to Yulia Putintseva 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-4 at the Charleston Open. The first-round match Monday in the main stadium of a tournament played on green clay lasted 2 hours, 46 minutes on a cloudy, breezy day. Svitolina has been ranked as high as No. 3 and is currently No. 1,081, because she was off the professional tennis tour for a little more than a year. She and her husband, fellow player Gael Monfils, became parents in October, when their daughter, Skaï, was born.