The Elina Svitolina injury in the morning session of the Australian Open 2024 on Monday (Sunday night ET) in Melbourne is set to turn the women’s singles draw upside down. Elina Svitolina, the former World No.3 had to retire hurt after just three completed games in the first set of the fourth round match itself. Her opponent, Linda Noskova was going well with a 3-0 lead.
However, the Elina Svitolina injury got serious after multiple medical timeouts. Visuals of the 2-time Australian Open quarterfinalist crying while retiring hurt and being denied a third opportunity at reaching that stage, were heartbreaking for her fans and many pundits and neutrals alike too.
Elina Svitolina has withdrawn from the Australian Open due to injury.
A very emotional Elina with tears in her eyes.
Linda Noskova gives her a hug at the net.
She’s been playing the tennis of her life & had a great chance this week.
This is painful to watch. Elina is one… pic.twitter.com/q0mZDoHTAE
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 22, 2024
The nature of the Elina Svitolina injury is that it is a back injury. Svitolina is one of the toughest competitors on the WTA Tour as according to many of her colleagues and those commentating on her game, she would never have called the physio even in tremendous pain if it was totally upto her.
Elina Svitolina is attempting to make a successful comeback into the sport for months now, after giving birth to their daughter back in 2022. To her credit, in the 2023 season, she made it to the semifinals of the French Open and Wimbledon virtually back-to-back. This Elina Svitolina injury is set to test her resilience again as she could miss out on several ‘Rainbow Swing’ events coming up in the United States and her participating in the ‘Clay Swing’ after that, has also been thrown in jeopardy. An official announcement is awaited from the player and her team in this regard, as a successful, speedy recovery is more crucial at this point of time.
Elina Svitolina injury: Is the Russia-Ukraine War causing her mental stress?
It is said often that tennis is like life, it is all about the mind and how you feel within it. The Elina Svitolina injury has come after the player making an emotional plea to her fans and especially tennis lovers in the United Kingdom, to support Ukraine’s fight against Russia through donating money and spreading the word for the battle-hardened country.
In her latest BBC column, Elina Svitolina, who has her original residence in Odesa in Ukraine, said that her family is affected daily by the war. According to her, it seems that people not just in the country, but even on the outside, have ignored the disastrous impact of the war. This is because now they are used to the atrocities imposed on them due to their obligations and the focus being more on daily survival.
Another Ukrainian player, Dayana Yastremska has also publicly pleaded at the Australian Open for fans to support Ukraine in this war. Perhaps, Svitolina has her personal worries to deal with and her body has responded with a sad injury. Presently, the 29-year-old stays in London with her husband, Gael Monfils.
