When Elina Svitolina won her first WTA title in almost two years on a sunny day in Strasbourg last May, a delighted crowd showered her with cheers as she held up her trophy.
When Svitolina presented the trophies after the women's final at a tournament her foundation sponsored in November in kyiv, Ukraine, she was inside a dark bomb shelter during a missile attack. Svitolina, the rest of the tournament organizers and the teenage participants made the most of the nearly four hours they spent inside the cramped facility as they waited for the attack to end so they could begin the men's final, but the time had not yet come. Another stark reminder of what daily life is like in Svitolina's beloved country as the Russian invasion continues.
“It's these kinds of moments where my priorities just change,” Svitolina, 29, told ESPN last month. “I miss my country a lot. I miss my people. And for me it is very important to come back when I have time and to feel those moments again when I am home because I feel that Ukraine will always be my home.” It doesn't matter where you actually live. [It’s] That's why I feel like using my platform is the least I can do for my country and my people.”
Since the war began in February 2022, Svitolina has done just that, and will continue to do so at the Australian Open and beyond this season.
The highest-ranked Ukrainian tennis player in WTA history and one of the country's most recognizable public figures, Svitolina has been front and center in raising awareness and money for her homeland, as well as giving Ukrainians something to encourage. Since returning to competition in April after giving birth to her daughter Skai (with husband and fellow tennis player Gael Monfils) in October 2022, Svitolina has won the Strasbourg title and reached the quarterfinals of the French Open and the Wimbledon semi-finals. She was named WTA Comeback Player of the Year and finished the season ranked inside the top 25. Through it all, she mentioned her country whenever she could, held fundraising events, met with potential donors and spent time with the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on multiple occasions.
“I represent a country that is at war right now,” Svitolina said. “I see that many people follow my results and I also feel the support of Ukrainians around the world. It is a lot of pressure, but it is a responsibility that I have and a great motivation for me. Every day I get up and I have a mission, both in the court as for [raising] money for my foundation and for United 24 [a Ukrainian government-run charitable foundation].
“Sometimes it's a big challenge and I feel a lot of pressure on my shoulders, but because of this I'm becoming a better person and it's really made me stronger.”
Svitolina said playing for more than just herself has given her purpose on the toughest days, on and off the court, and credited it with helping her manage her nerves and stay in the present. Everything, she said, “just fell into place” before the French Open, her first major comeback.
In Paris, which opened play less than two months after her return, she showed few signs of rust, defeating two seeds, including No. 9 seed Daria Kasatkina, on her way to the quarterfinals. Weeks later, at Wimbledon, she equaled her best result in a Grand Slam, defeating current world No. 1, Iga Swiatek, and three other major champions.
Naomi Osaka, the four-time major champion who returned from maternity leave this month, called Svitolina's return “super inspiring” in a recent interview with ESPN and cited her as motivation for her own comeback.
Svitolina said she hopes to build on her 2023 success into the new season. In Auckland, her first tournament of the year, she looked ready to do exactly that. She defeated major champions Caroline Wozniacki and Emma Raducanu during her run to the final, where she ultimately lost to reigning US Open champion Coco Gauff in three sets. She will open play at the Australian Open against 18-year-old wild card Taylah Preston. Svitolina is a two-time quarter-finalist in Melbourne.
“I sure had an incredible season [in 2023] but I always want more and I know I can [achieve] more,” Svitolina said.
Svitolina, who was ranked No. 3 in her career and won the 2018 WTA Finals, knows how good she can be on the sport's biggest stages. Like many of her teammates, she prioritizes the big leagues and considers winning a Grand Slam title to be one of her biggest professional goals. But this year she has her eyes on a different title: Olympic gold.
Svitolina, a 2021 Tokyo bronze medalist, is excited to have the opportunity to represent Ukraine again this summer.
“I don't want to put so much pressure on myself because there is enough pressure already, but because of the war, this is like a fifth Slam or maybe even bigger for me,” Svitolina said. “I love playing in Paris and it will be on clay. I love the surface, so I will do my best to prepare and prepare well. I know there will be a lot of support, a lot of pressure from different angles, but pressure is a privilege.”
Svitolina held the November tournament in kyiv, as that was the city she moved to when she was 12 to begin her professional career. She said it is now almost unrecognizable from the city she remembers, as she estimated “almost 80% of it has been damaged,” but it has meant a lot to her to provide opportunities to future youth players who have had their hopes dashed on the court. . Many of them have fathers who fought in the war, Svitolina said, and tennis has simply taken a backseat.
But tennis has given Svitolina an escape for the past 23 months and she has wanted to provide the same to as many children in Ukraine as she can. As a result of her experience in the war-torn city, as well as everything she has seen firsthand or through photos and videos, in Ukraine and as a new mother, her perspective, as an athlete and as a person, has changed.
“Now I enjoy the little things,” Svitolina said. “Life can go by very quickly. For me now it is important to live life to the fullest.”
And that starts with Skai. Svitolina dropped her off at her house in Switzerland during the US Open summer hard-court series with her mother and Monfils' mother, but Skai has been with Svitolina and Monfils throughout her time in New Zealand and Australia. Svitolina's mother and a nanny travel with the family because, as Svitolina said, “it takes a team.” Due to Skai's young age, Svitolina and Monfils were concerned about the health effects of such a long trip, but decided it was worth it to enjoy family time.
Svitolina and Monfils have not thought beyond the Australian Open in terms of Skai's travel schedule and will reevaluate after the tournament. Not thinking too much about the future is a mentality Svitolina has used for much of her comeback.
Svitolina spent much of the fall recovering from a foot injury, which derailed her hard-court season, and that, combined with watching Monfils deal with his own spate of injuries, has made staying healthy his priority. She no longer has a timeline regarding her career, and instead, Svitolina said that both she and Monfils will take it one season at a time going forward.
“We don't want to put numbers in front of ourselves,” Svitolina said. “We're looking at it like every year is important and we're trying to prepare as best as we can. We'll look at it year after year. And then we'll see what the future holds.”
