“My body can’t take it anymore”

Elina Svitolina takes a tennis break. The Ukrainian, number 20 in the world, has serious back problems and has to rest next time.

“It has been a very difficult two months for me. Not only mentally, but also physically,” Svitolina reported on social media. “I’ve been struggling with my back for a while. Because of the pain I haven’t been able to prepare for tournaments at my best.”

“In the meantime, I saw with unbearable pain in my heart what is happening in my home country Ukraine, and how bravely the Ukrainian people defend the country. It gave me great motivation to keep going and fight on the right track. But now my body can’t take it anymore.” I need to rest.”

In any case, 27-year-old Svitolina will miss Ukraine’s Billie Jean King Cup matches. Ukrainian tennis players will face the United States on April 17th. It is not clear if Svitolina can compete at Roland Garros (May 22 – June 5) and Wimbledon (June 27 – July 10).

Svitolina caused a stir in the tennis world earlier this month by not wanting to play Russia’s Anastasia Potapova at the WTA Tour Championships in Monterrey. I did this because the tournament organization did not speak out against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. When the organizers did it after all, I gave up. She won easily: 6-2, 6-1.

Svitolina ranked third in the world

Svitolina has been one of the best women’s tennis players for many years. In 2018, she won the WTA Finals, which is the unofficial World Tennis Championships. A year ago, she was third in the WTA rankings, which is still the highest rating of her career.

Svitolina did not reach a Grand Slam final. In 2019, she was stuck in the semi-finals at Wimbledon and the US Open. Last year, tennis player’s partner Gaël Monfils won a bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

After third place in Japan, Svitolina slipped backwards. She reached the quarter-finals at the US Open at the end of last year, but in January did not make it past the third round and fell to 20th place in the world rankings. On Thursday, she was already eliminated in the opening round of the WTA Tour Championships in Miami. “But I’m sure I’ll see you again soon,” confirms Svitolina.