Elina Svitolina has withdrawn from the Madrid Open and the Italian Open in Rome, which created doubt about whether she would return for the Roland Garros.
Svitolina announced a break from tennis earlier in the season after a string of bad results. Her decision was not a surprise to anyone, considering the situation in her native country of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian's home city of Odesa has been a target of recent war operations, which put even more emotional strain and stress on her. Therefore, Svitolina has decided to put her career on hold, and fans haven't seen her on the WTA Tour for quite some time now.
The decision to take a break was also physically motivated. She mentioned a back issue that has plagued her for a while, and considering the trickiness of those types of injuries, rest is most commonly the best option.
Svitolina did not say when she would return, but withdrawing from the WTA 1000 tournament in Rome was probably a difficult decision for the Ukrainian. While the Madrid Open has never been a successful event for her, the opposite is true for the Italian Open.
She debuted there in 2014 and won back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018. Later, she also reached the quarter-finals in 2020 and 2021. That means she was defending her last year's points this year, which will mean a significant drop in the rankings for Svitolina.
The decision to withdraw also cast doubt over her Roland Garros participation as she enjoyed a strong showing in the French capital as well. Svitolina played quarter-finals three times on the Parisian clay, in 2015, 2017, and 2020.
As of now, she's still on the entry list for the second major tournament of the season. Yet, it remains to be seen when she will really return to the Tour.