Svitolina beats Russian and makes Comeback of the Year

Ukraine's top-ranked player Elina Svitolina has won the WTA Awards. The Women's Tennis Association named the 29-year-old from Odesa the Comeback of the Year. In the fight for the most spectacular comeback in 2023, the Ukrainian was ahead of Czechs Marketa Vondroušová and Karolina Muhova, Xie Shuwei from Chinese Taipei, and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of the occupying country.

Elina did not compete for 13 months, from March 2022 to April 2023. At first, Svitolina was worried about an injury, and then she found out she was pregnant and went on maternity leave. But she quickly returned to the court after the birth of her daughter.

The Ukrainian became a mother in October 2022, and in May 2023, she reached the semifinals at the WTA 125 tournament in Saint-Malo and won the WTA 250 title in Strasbourg. In June, Elina made it to the quarterfinals of Roland Garros, and in July she reached the semifinals at the grass-court Grand Slam, Wimbledon.

At the beginning of her return to the court, Svitolina was ranked 508th in the world rankings, but she finished this year at 25th. Such a bright comeback did not go unnoticed. Prior to the WTA's recognition, the Ukrainian was ranked first in the international tennis media voting.

Earlier, Svitolina admitted how she was impressed by Ukrainians. The tennis player said that she experienced incredible feelings during her fall trip to her home country. The tennis player noted that she was impressed by the resilience of her compatriots, who, despite constant drone attacks and missile strikes from Russia, continue to follow her career.

Also, as OBOZ.UA reported, Svitolina categorically answered the question about Russians. She also said that international tennis organizations are not going to change their neutral position on Russian athletes and remove them from tournaments.

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