Tennis ace Elina Svitolina swaps racket for rocket launcher and joins ‘heroes’ in Ukraine
A Wimbledon star and Ukrainian tennis icon has taken time during the off-season to return to her war-torn nation and has been pictured with an RPG rocket launcher
Ukrainian star Elina Svitolina has traded her tennis racket in for a rocket launcher after returning to her home country.
Now in the tennis off-season, the 30-year-old Wimbledon semi-finalist has returned to Ukraine. It has been almost three years since Russia invaded the now war-torn nation.
Whilst Svitolina was competing in the WTA tour, she has been raising awareness for the hardship her country has been suffering. Now, she has taken her support to the next level as she shared a photo of herself on Instagram holding a rocket launcher.
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Standing in a military jacket amongst snow covered sandbags, Svitolina can be seen with an RPG propped on her shoulder. She also shared a selfie of her in the camo jacket, with a white scarf and hat with a heartfelt caption.
She wrote: “Kharkiv has a special place in my heart. The city that gave the feeling of real home when I started my professional career here at 12 years old.
“The city that continues to provide warmth and protection during the great war. If you ask me, where do I find the motivation to fight in sports arenas? This is my country, my people, my Kharkiv and our heroes.”
She hasn’t just kept her words on social media. After reaching the Wimbledon quarter-finals earlier this year, she broke into tears as she was interviewed on court after further attacks on Ukraine from Russia.
She said: “It’s a very difficult day today for Ukrainian people. It was not easy to focus today on the match. Since the morning it’s very difficult to read the news, so just to go on the court is extremely tough.”
Amongst her iconic Wimbledon whites, she wore a black ribbon which is a symbol of mourning and remembrance.
The Ukrainian ace will begin her preparations for the 2025 tennis season. She hasn’t been able to play since the US Open after undergoing foot injury which ended her season.
The first event of the year will be the Australian Open, although Svitolina has not entered an event in the lead up to it. However, she is on the entry list for the opening major.
