This is a war that has been going on for over two months now and it is impacting millions of people around the world. In sport, most Russians have been banned from competitions and conversely, many Ukrainian athletes are very saddened by the war taking place in their country. Several of them have also lost their lives during the fighting while others use their voices to raise awareness of the tragedy that the Ukrainian inhabitants are going through. Among them, the tennis player Elina Svitolina is one of the most involved and thanks to her popularity, she tries to alert as many people as possible via her social networks or charity evenings.
At the end of March, she made the decision to take a big break in her season, unable to find the strength to continue playing. Gael Monfils’ wife is currently the 27th player in the world and many expected to see her return for one of the most important events of the year, Roland Garros. The tournament begins on May 22 and Elina Svitolina has just made an announcement that may sadden her fans. Asked by AFP about her possibility of participating in the Parisian tournament, the 27-year-old Ukrainian was cash: “Unfortunately not this year. I will miss it”she replied.
Mentally it’s exhausting to see all these terrible things happening to people
We imagine that the decision was very complicated to make for the young woman who married Gaël Monfils last year, but she is still not in a condition to play again. “Mentally it’s exhausting to see all these terrible things happening to people and not knowing what’s going to happen tomorrow or in an hour, it is very distressing. (…) It is a permanent concern”added Elina Svitolina.
The fighting continues in Ukraine and the situation in her country is currently preventing Elina Svitolina from resuming the practice of her sport. Fortunately for her, we imagine that she is perfectly supported by her husband in this difficult period.