Elina Svitolina saw everything with her own eyes. The rockets, the destruction, the suffering. The Ukrainian was in Kharkiv in November and visited the tennis university in her homeland, where her first racket is on display. “I would say about 50 percent of the city was destroyed,” she said afterward. Vladimir Putin’s regime is still bombing Ukraine. There is still no end to this horror in sight. But now, Svitolina reports, people come to her and ask whether the war is over. “None of us can afford to remain silent under these circumstances. We must speak out and act until Ukraine wins the war.”
The Ukrainian tennis players are more successful than ever at the Australian Open this year. For the first time, seven players were in the main draw. For the first time, three of them made it to the round of 16. But for everyone there is more at stake on the other side of the world. Switolina and Co. are on a mission – on a national mission to combat forgetting.
