“I woke up every night having nightmares”- Elina Svitolina details emotional turmoil amidst war in her homeland
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Elina Svitolina
The war in Ukraine has made an impact on not only the civilians living there but also people whose families reside in the war-torn country. A month has passed since Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a full-fledged war on Ukraine, and there is still no end in sight. There have been numerous fatalities and millions of people have been forced to take refuge elsewhere and there is a grim envisage of how this might end.
Despite being under emotional turmoil because of the harrowing situations in her homeland, Ukrainian tennis star Elina Svitolina vowed to compete at tournaments and contribute to her country in her own way. Svitolina pledged to donate all her prize money earned to military aid and relief operation. The 27-year-old has made her voice heard and held a ‘Tennis for Stars’ event that saw all profits go towards aiding Ukrainian refugees. The tough conditions seem to have taken a toll on the Ukrainian, she faced second-round exits at both the Indian Wells and Miami Open. After her loss in Miami, Svitolina herself admitted that it was tough to compete under such distressing circumstances, given her family is in Ukraine, which is still engaged in a war with Russian troops.
Svitolina said she has been speaking to her compatriots, who are under the same distress she is in. Fellow Ukrainian, Dayana Yastremska is competing in Miami as well. She was one of the 3.5 million refugees that were forced to flee the country as a result of the war.
“I try to be courageous, to take up challenges, but I can see that I’m not 100%. Talking to other Ukrainian players on the circuit in Indian Wells and Miami, they told me that they also have problems. We talk to each other about what is happening there and how we experience it here,” she said.
‘Worst period of my life’: Elina Svitolina on Ukraine-Russia war
Svitolina then detailed the nightmarish experience she has been undergoing ever since the war broke out in late February. She then said now the tensions have eased a bit but reflected that it was the ‘worst period of her life.’
For my part, I would say that the first week (after the start of the war, editor’s note) was the most difficult of all, I woke up every night having nightmares, it was a truly horrible experience. Now I’m a little better, in the end, even such an event is something you get used to, human beings have a pattern that they get used to things eventually. However, I can safely say that it was the worst period of my life.” she added.
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