Ukrainian Elina Svitolina is continuing her “mission” to use her platform as an international tennis star to highlight issues affecting her war-stricken home country.
Svitolina, who is currently ranked 23rd in the WTA world rankings but has been as high as No 3, has been an outspoken critic of Russia's invasion of Ukraine that began in 2022 and has led to hundreds of thousands of casualties on both sides and large swathes of eastern Ukraine annexed by Russia.
The 30-year-old is a global ambassador for 'Bring Kids Back UA', an initiative led by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to secure the safe return of Ukrainian children who were forcefully deported to Russia during the early stages of the conflict.
“I feel like I have a mission, I have a platform that I use to work,” Svitolina, who is married to French tennis player Gael Monfils, told The National.
“To bring attention, to bring people together, to unite, for the causes and for our future because hopefully the war will end soon and then we'll have a lot of work to rebuild our country and to build our future.
“This initiative is working really hard to bring back kids that have been stolen from Ukraine. There's still more than 20,000 kids that are missing. They are our future.”
Bring Kids Back’s main objective is "identifying, locating, and safely repatriating all illegally deported children to reunite them with their families and guardians in a secure environment".
Svitolina has heard first hand the stories of children who have successfully returned home including one girl, born in Kherson in 2008, who was forcibly taken out of Ukraine and moved to a Russian camp.
“She was told that Russia is the only country she should care about, and that Ukraine is not even a nation,” she said. “These kinds of stories are really, really tough to hear.”
On the court, Svitolina made a positive start to the new season when she reached the Australian Open quarter-finals, losing to eventual champion Madison Keys in three sets.
After beating Russia's Veronika Kudermetova to reach the last eight, Svitolina wrote “The spirit of Ukraine” on a TV camera lens at the end of the match.
“This fighting spirit I try to show, that I try to represent as well,” Svitolina, who refuses to shake hands or pose for photographs with Russian or Belarusian players because of the war, told reporters in Melbourne.
“These days are very difficult for Ukraine. It's almost been three years that the war is ongoing.
“On a daily basis it is a very heavy rucksack that all Ukrainians have on their backs.
“For me to find a way to win matches, to find a way to bring a little light, a little win for the Ukrainian people is something that I feel I am responsible for. To bring the fight is the least that I can do.”
Three-time Grand Slam semi-finalist Svitolina has “high expectations” for the new season as she looks to add to her 17 singles career titles.
Last September, she had an operation to insert two screws into her ankle and took time off the tour to get her body back in working order.
Now she is back, and while the ultimate goal of winning a Grand Slam title has yet to be fulfilled, Svitolina is pleased with her progress.
“I always have high goals for myself, but it really important to break it down into the small steps,” she said. “And right now, I've been really trying to play well on the court because I missed four months at the end of last year with my surgery.
“It hasn’t been easy after that, but I feel like I had a good start to the year in Australia, making the quarter-finals there.
“So, I feel like I'm on a good path. I just have to get back and into the rhythm, into the tournaments and then the results will come.”
Having recently just competed at the Qatar Open and Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships – and with Saudi Arabia now hosting the season-ending WTA Finals – Svitolina believes the region's influence on women's tennis is a positive one.
“I feel it's a good step," she said. “I feel we are doing everything possible to involve kids and, to involve women.
“It could be professional, it could be amateur as well, but I feel like sports is uniting a lot of people. It's a great platform to unite for good causes.
“Tennis for me personally, it brought a lot to my life and I'm very thankful for my parents for having chosen this sport for me.”
