One of the hottest Ukrainian athletes on the planet today, tennis player Elina Svitolina was quick to react to Russia’s attack on her country.
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“I’m proud to be Ukrainian,” Svitolina wrote on social media. We stand together in this difficult time for peace and the future of our State. Glory to Ukraine!”
Currently ranked 15th in the world by the WTA, Svitolina sends a message resonating with her compatriots, but it also has something to shake up many people who rub shoulders with her in the world of tennis. Frenchman Gael Monfils, a member of the top 25 in the ATP rankings, is also Svitolina’s husband.
Two other players from Ukraine are among the WTA’s top 100 rackets, Anhelina Kalinina and 19-year-old Marta Kostyuk.
Over the past year, Svitolina had notably found herself on the road to Quebecer Leylah Fernandez at the United States Open. Fernandez had won in three sets of 6-3, 3-6 and 7-6 (5) in the quarters stage before continuing his road to the final.
If Svitolina was crowned Rogers Cup champion in Toronto in 2017, fans will remember that Canada and Ukraine faced off in Montreal in April 2018 in a Fed Cup World Group II play-off . Quebecer Eugenie Bouchard, Bianca Andreescu and Gabriela Dabrowski had joined forces to defeat the Ukrainian team made up of Lesia Tsurenko, Kateryna Bondarenko and Olga Savchuk.
