Elina Svitolina ‘mentally drained’ by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Ukrainian Elina Svitolina says the fallout from the Russian invasion of her home country has left her “mentally drained” as she admitted the last few months have been “really, really rough.”
In March, the 27-year-old that she was to take a break away from tennis with her struggling physically as well as mentally and emotionally.
The world number 27 has also been out spoken surrounding Russian and Belarusian athletes stances on the war as she urged the two nations players to speak out on their position.
Now, Elina Svitolina has revealed more about how the war has impacted her well-being.
In a recent interview, Svitolina told reporters, “It’s been a tough couple of months for me to deal with everything and of course, having my family back in Ukraine is having a big impact as well.
“So for me, this has been a really, really rough couple of months mentally to hold that – everything – on my shoulders.
“That’s why it was a better decision for me to take my time to really settle down with everything.
“Everyday it’s something happening back home with my family. For the past few days there have been shootings and explosions going on in Odessa, my hometown. So mentally it’s draining, mentally it’s very tough.
“I can’t even imagine what people are going through back in Ukraine, what my family is going through.
“Of course, the first week was the toughest week of my life. I was so worried about the people in Ukraine, about my family, what was going to be next. Every minute there was new information. But then you find ways to deal with that.
“Right now, I take my time during the day to just switch off my phone for like ten minutes and this really helps me to be calmer and to deal with the situation better.”
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