‘Still a Mystery to Me’ – Elina Svitolina Feels Surprised by the Lack of Humanity of a Few Russian Tennis Players

Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina has been pretty active on social media since the conflict started between Russia and Ukraine. Earlier, she pledged to donate her earnings from Monterrey Open to the Ukrainian military. Recently, Wimbledon announced its ban on all the Russian and Belarusian tennis players from participating in this year’s tournament. In a recent interview, Svitolina expressed her views about the decision taken by Wimbledon. 

Sep 7, 2021; Flushing, NY, USA; Elina
Svitolina of Ukraine hits to Leylah Fernandez of Canada on day nine of the 2021 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

Elina Svitolina talked about beating the Russian players on the tennis court

Previously, Elina Svitolina posted on her Twitter about demanding some answers from all the Russian and Belarusian players. Now, in a recent interview, the Ukrainian player talks about playing them on the tennis court and beating them. According to her, Boycotting them is not the right option. 

“I don’t think that boycott is a right thing. On the contrary, we need to beat them on courts, to look for additional motivation in this. I think this should not be done anywhere in sports. We must go out and win. And the Russians and Belarusians should simply express their exact position publicly,” Svitolina said. 

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“My statement about removing the [Russian] flag helped a little. But not expressing their opinion about the actions of their government is still mentally wrong on their part. This gives more motivation to defeat them. Now it looks like the Russian players try to avoid us, so we won’t meet each other or have a conversation. And words of support were expressed by only a few people who asked about my family or if everyone was alive,” she added. 

Elina Svitolina: “Privately words of support were expressed by only a few Russian players who asked about my family. It’s still a mystery to me how it is possible that you can’t show humanity” (via Tribuna) pic.twitter.com/wokz3izJrZ

— Tennis_BTU_ENG (@Tennis_BTU_ENG) April 21, 2022

“It’s still a mystery to me how it is possible that you can’t show humanity. Although we see each other every week, our communication has gone to zero – even with those who used to say “Hello”,” she further said. 

Svitolina took a break after the Miami Open

The Ukrainian tennis player has had some stressful months, both mentally and physically. As a result, she decided to take a much-needed break after the Miami Open last month. She posted on her social media about suffering a back issue for a while. Moreover, the cruelty happening in her country has affected her mentally. 

Currently, she is still on her break and has not participated in any clay-court tournaments so far this season. However, it won’t be surprised if we see her at the French Open this year. 

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Will we see Svitolina at the French Open? Let us know in the comments.

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