Svitolina: Ukraine may be the safest place, because people here understand
Ukrainian tennis star Elina Svitolina says she feels more pressure and insecurity abroad than at home, and spoke about the September attack that damaged her and Sergiy Stakhovsky's padel club.
Ukraine's top-ranked tennis player Elina Svitolina has said in an interview that she often feels less secure while traveling abroad than she does in Ukraine itself, pointing to encounters with people in various countries who either misunderstand or refuse to understand what is happening in her homeland. Somewhat counterintuitively, she suggested Ukraine itself might be the safest place for her, precisely because people there genuinely grasp the reality of the war.
On 'neutral' athletes
Svitolina also addressed the so-called neutral status granted to tennis players from countries responsible for the war. In her view, this neutrality is essentially nominal — these athletes still represent an aggressor state regardless of the flag they compete under. She admitted that facing such opponents on court is emotionally difficult, but said it also fuels extra determination to beat them in competition.
Attack on the padel club
The war in Ukraine is now in its fifth year, and in September an attack damaged a padel club Svitolina co-runs with former tennis player Sergiy Stakhovsky. She expressed relief that none of the club's staff were injured in the incident, thanking the team working to repair the roof and other damage caused by the strike.
She described the attack as deeply upsetting but called it part of the everyday reality of running a business in Ukraine, saying the response each time is to rebuild and come back stronger. Svitolina thanked everyone who contributed to the recovery effort, noting that many patrons wanted to return and play as soon as the next day, which pushed the team to reopen available courts as quickly as possible.
