‘My body can’t handle it anymore,’ Elina Svitolina takes an indefinite break from tennis, cites mental health due to the Russia-Ukraine war as the main reason
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Elina Svitolina
The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has affected millions of people worldwide directly or indirectly. Especially in Ukraine, thousands of people have been killed while millions have lost their homes. Like every walk of life, the sporting fraternity too has been affected by the war. Many sporting events in Ukraine and Russia have already been canceled and, many sports have also banned Russian athletes.
While Russian athletes are allowed to compete in tennis, their flag has been banned, forcing them to play without any flag. Amidst this, Ukrainian tennis star Elina Svitolina has been the most heard voice. She has time and again called for the tennis bodies to take a strong stand against Russia and is very active about the issue on social media too.
But it seems like Svitolina too has lost patience. In a statement, Svitolina announced that she’ll be taking an indefinite break from tennis. She said that the last 2 months were very difficult for her both mentally and physically. And due to her back issues and mental health amidst the war, she feels best to take a break from tennis.
“It’s been an extremely difficult couple of months for me, not only mentally but also physically. For a quite long time, I’ve been struggling with my back. The pain didn’t let me prepare for the tournaments at my best,” she said.
“Meanwhile, observing with unbearable pain in my heart what is happening in my homeland Ukraine and how much bravery and courage our Ukrainian people ?? are defending our country, gave me a huge push to continue and fight in the court. Now, my body can’t handle it anymore and I need to rest.”
Elina Svitolina expected to back around the French Open
She added that she’ll be missing the Fed Cup and a few clay-court tournaments. Hence it could be assumed that Svitolina should be back in a couple of months’ time for the French Open.
“Therefore, I’m sad to announce that I will be missing the Fed Cup and a few of my favorite tournaments in Europe. But I’m sure, I will see you around soon?! Thank you all for your support in this challenging period ❤️” she wrote.
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Lakshya Chopra
(2595 Articles Published)