Elina Svitolina is a three-time Grand Slam semifinalist who's been ranked as high as No. 3 in the world, so she would love to be able to represent Ukraine this weekend in its Billie Jean King Cup playoff matches against Austria in McKinney, Texas, about 35 miles north of Dallas.
Svitolina is sidelined while recovering from ankle surgery — she hopes to be ready to compete at the Australian Open in January — but she still made the journey to the United States with her country's team for what is technically considered a “home” contest, even if it needed to be moved out of Ukraine because of the war with Russia that began more than 2 1/2 years ago.
“Of course it's tough for us not to be able to host the (matches) in Ukraine. The support of your people is special, so we are very sad that we don’t have that chance now these days,” Svitolina said in a video interview. “But at the same time, we are grateful for all the people helping organize our events away from home. Can’t thank them enough for these gestures.”
Some of the proceeds from the competition on Saturday and Sunday will go to Svitolina's foundation, which she formed in 2019 and offers supports to Ukrainian athletes and children. The foundation currently oversees the country's Billie Jean King Cup team, which held its April “home” match in Amelia Island, Florida.
“You cannot overstate her impact on Ukrainian tennis and on the nation, in general. People in Ukraine need positive emotions,” said Ilya Marchenko, Ukraine's captain this weekend. “Everything she does is really important for them. She puts this mission first and then her career second, for the moment. It’s really big inspiration.”
Svitolina said she visits Ukraine “quite often” — most recently about a month ago — to see family and friends, sure, but also to do work for her foundation, including hosting camps for children.
“I really enjoy it, even though it is really tough because of the missile attacks. Right now, daily, basic life is really difficult in Ukraine. But I want to be there. I want to meet with people. I want to give them, at least for a few moments, a good moment that they can enjoy,” Svitolina said. “I feel like sports can be a big part of stress relief for a lot of Ukrainians.”
Without her, currently No. 23, or Marta Kostyuk, who is No. 18, Ukraine's highest-ranked player in Texas is No. 118 Lesia Tsurenko. Austria is led by No. 222 Sinja Kraus.
There are two singles matches scheduled for Saturday, and another two on Sunday in the best-of-five series. If neither team has clinched by then, a doubles match will close things out Sunday.
The winning country advances to the World Group in 2025 with a chance to play for a spot in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Howard Fendrich, The Associated Press
