'Mentally I Feel Safer In Ukraine Than Anywhere Else': Says Svitolina
WTAWednesday, 28 June 2023 at 14:00
Updated at Thursday, 31 July 2025 at 19:05
Elina Svitolina is a very prominent Ukrainian player on the WTA Tour, and she's embraced that position after the war in her home country started.
Only recently, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of a neighbouring sovereign state. The rest of the world acted, trying to help the country defend itself and its statehood.
Svitolina has been fighting the same battle in her own way, causing a lot of worry to her husband, Gael Monfils. The French player was in Ukraine with his wife a few times before the war started, and he's been worried about her safety ever since the war began.
To her, though, being back home is where she feels most safe, even though realistically it's not safe due to the ongoing war.
"Of course, it’s unsafe because the country’s in a state of war. I have to plan it really well with the safety measures and be careful always. But mentally I feel safer in Ukraine than anywhere else in the world."
The player, who is set to compete at Wimbledon thanks to a wild card, has been very vocal about her support for her own country, travelling back home to visit some of the towns that were badly affected.
She worked with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and attended events to gather funds for relief efforts. It was quite natural to her because she always held a firm interest in politics, even though never a political career.
"I’ve been quite interested in politics, and especially this time when I was pregnant, I have lots of friends who have different positions in Ukrainian politics and many friends as well who know a lot about it. But I never really wanted to go that way. I just want to be aware what is happening in my country, to learn and to understand how we can help at different levels for the people."
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