‘It is not fair play’: Elina Svitolina condemns decision to allow Russian players to compete

Elina Svitolina ventured back to Ukraine last month, and while meeting with President Zelensky, there was an even more important personal meeting for her.

The country’s greatest tennis player of this century to date will best remember visiting her beloved grandmother, who lives on the thirteenth floor of an apartment block in her native Odessa.

It was what he found there that most reminded him of the daily cost of the invasion and reaffirmed his belief that tennis, including Wimbledon, cannot separate politics and sport when it comes to this war.

“While it was encouraging in many ways to be back, it was also sad to see Odessa as it is now,” says Svitolina, the 28-year-old former world number three, who will return to the circuit next month in Charleston after giving birth. to his first child.

‘It’s hard for my grandmother to ever go out because the elevator doesn’t work where she lives. That’s how it is. Odessa is a lovely place where people used to go on vacation, normally it’s a very relaxed atmosphere, but now it’s very sad.

Svitolina has not played a match since losing to Heather Watson at the 2022 Miami Open

‘There are many soldiers in the streets and 95% of the place is without electricity. It’s only sometimes hot and it was incredibly difficult for people in the dead of winter when it was minus five or minus ten.

Svitolina knows that among her compatriots she is very lucky. She is married to charismatic French star Gael Monfils and has spent much of the last year at her Monaco base, raising money and sending it home.

She gave birth to daughter Skai last October and is now focused on returning this summer to Wimbledon, where she reached the semifinals in 2019. She dreams of playing Center Court again, but doesn’t think players from Russia and Belarus should be there with her.

That now looks more likely to be the case, as British tennis is under threat of further sanctions from the two tours, which are deeply opposed to individual suspensions.

In my opinion it’s not supposed to be like this, what Wimbledon did last year (banning players from Russia and Belarus) was the right decision. If that has changed this year it is very sad because the war is still terrible, the Russian army continues to kill many innocent people. It’s not fair game.

One of the world’s top ten most consistent players of the past decade, Svitolina spent some of her formative years coaching in Kharkiv.

‘I think there’s only one place where I used to train still working. The roof of the place where she trained the most was blown up by a missile.

‘Our sport has gone back at least ten years. Our athletes are unable to train properly, and there are 150 athletes who have died fighting on the front lines. It is obvious that they are not fair conditions.

The country’s two most successful men’s players of recent times, Alex Dolgopolov and Sergiy Stakhovsky, have taken up arms.

“The war has brought the players closer to Ukraine,” he says. “And we all agree that it is not fair to us that they (Russia and Belarus) just continue. Other sports, Olympic sports, don’t allow Russian athletes to compete, it’s pretty much only tennis that allows them and I don’t know why that is.

“Mentally it is very difficult to know that maybe there are some players with you in the dressing room who are supporting the war. Since most of them haven’t come up with a clear statement, you never know what they’re really thinking.’

Interestingly, she exempts male top tenner Andrey Rublev and female stars Daria Kasatkina and Anastasia Pavluychenkova from criticism.

It’s been almost a year since her last match, a loss to Great Britain’s Heather Watson at the 2022 Miami Open.

The former world number 3 does not understand why tennis allows Russian players to compete while other sports have banned them.

While returning home to Ukraine, Svitolina met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

‘It was a very difficult time for me. I had just been told a few days before that game that she was pregnant and mentally she was very distracted by the war. It was one of the hardest moments of my life. In a way, it was a good thing for me that this breakup came.

“The last year has been a mixed bag, it feels like ten years of my life have been packed into one. I sure see things differently now and there will be less pressure on me when I return. I have so many more things in my life.

Svitolina, one of the country’s best-known athletes, entered Ukraine via Moldova and traveled to kyiv via Odessa. While she was there, she organized a six-hour marathon tennis clinic for 400 children and met with the president to discuss her fundraising efforts.

“I started my foundation in 2019 and it was originally helping young people who wanted to become tennis players, but of course it has now expanded to help families in general.

“When I met with President Zelensky, we talked about raising funds for United 24, which supports the military and reconstruction projects in Ukraine. Much has been destroyed by Russian missiles. (120 were released in a 24-hour period during their stay, according to the app citizens use to alert them.)

“When I start playing again, at first I will have to do it without my daughter, which will be difficult, but I can use my position to help.” What I found is that the spirit of the Ukrainian people is still amazing, they are doing everything they can to achieve victory. People are trying to enjoy what they can today because they know there may not be a tomorrow.’