The past month hasn’t been easy for Ukrainian tennis star Elina Svitolina and she is set to take some time off before she returns to action. After Svitolina pulled out of the Fed Cup and Charleston, she also withdrew from Stuttgart.
Svitolina had been expected to kick off her clay season in Charleston and then play Stuttgart. Instead, Svitolina has decided to skip Charleston and Stuttgart as the next tournament on her schedule is the Madrid Masters.
Stuttgart update
OUT: Svitolina
IN: Giorgi
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Svitolina debuted in Stuttgart four years ago, when she made the quarterfinal before losing to Caroline Garcia.
Svitolina returned to Stuttgart last year and reached the semifinal, before losing to Ashleigh Barty in three sets. Svitolina last played in Miami, where she was beaten by Heather Watson in her first match at the tournament.
Svitolina opens in an Instagram post
“It’s been an extremely difficult couple of months for me, not only mentally but also physically,” Svitolina wrote on Instagram. “For a quite long time I’ve been struggling with my back.
The pain didn’t let me prepare for the tournaments at my best. Meanwhile, observing with unbearable pain in my heart what is happening in my homeland Ukraine and with how much bravery and courage our Ukrainian people are defending our country, this gave me a huge push to continue and fight on court.
Now, my body can’t handle it anymore and I need to rest. Therefore, I’m sad to announce that I will be missing Fed Cup and few of my favorite tournaments in Europe. But I’m sure, I will see you around soon.” It remains to be seen when will Svitolina be ready to return to action.
This news is republished from another source. You can check the original article here