Mentally exhausted by the consequences of the war in her Ukrainian homeland, former world number three Elina Svitolina will not compete at the French Open in Paris. She will “unfortunately miss the tournament this year,” said the 27-year-old in an interview with the news agency “AFP”.
Svitolina has not played on the WTA Tour since late March. At that time she had announced a break from tennis due to mental and physical exhaustion. This will now last at least until after the end of the Grand Slam tournament in Roland Garros (from May 22nd). In Indian Wells and Miami she had lost her opening match.
“Right now I’m concentrating on my family and my foundation (for children and tennis, ed.),” said Svitolina, whose hometown of Odessa was hit by Russian missiles this week. Her parents and brothers left Ukraine, but other family members are still in Odessa, “hiding in the basement,” according to Svitolina.
“Mentally it’s draining every time to keep in touch and to see all these terrible things happening to our people and families,” Svitolina said. “Not knowing what’s coming tomorrow or in an hour is really scary for everyone Ukrainians – a constant worry.”