“During the war, playing against them and defeating them is my mission on the court” - Svitolina uses Ukraine war as 'motivation' on court when competing against Russians

Elina Svitolina has made no secret towards her resentment to Russian and Belarusian tennis players while the Ukraine war is still ongoing. The conflict has sparked atrocities in Ukraine with Svitolina utilising her platform to spread the word and support her country on and off the court.

Already there has been drama when Svitolina has faced off against players from these nations. For some time while she has not been shaking hands with them after matches in a trend very much familiar with tennis fans.

She has also written messages in support of her country on the lenses of cameras in a tradition completed by tennis players if they win the match. A recent example was when she made it to the final of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. On the lens she wrote: "Fight like Ukraine."

Speaking to Channel 24, she stated why she uses her position as a top tennis player to spread the word. "Sports have been pushed back for many years now - it's very sad," she spoke. "But it seems that the world doesn't understand this enough. Athletes are the people who can remind the world about Ukraine with their results and their voice."

The world number nine has used this as a form of motivation on court after already taking on a whole bunch of Russian competitors. “For me, it’s motivation — to climb higher in the rankings and play better in order to beat them. It’s a personal challenge,” Svitolina said. “During the war, playing against them and defeating them is my mission on the court.”

So far it has already been a magnificent season for the 31-year-old who is back to her imperious best on court, defeating some of the best players in the world while also going deep in some of the biggest tournaments.

It began with 10 straight wins Down Under. This included her run to the ASB Classic title, defeating Xinyu Wang in the final. She then made a brilliant run all the way to a maiden Australian Open semi-final where she would be defeated by the world number one Aryna Sabalenka.

She would face a number of Russian athletes in this time. The first was actually Varvara Gracheva, who despite being born in Russia now represents France on the big stage. She then faced a brace of Russian talents. Diana Shnaider and Mirra Andreeva were both disposed of in straight sets as Svitolina continued to showcase her high level on court.

The crowd were left confused when Andreeva instinctively went over to the umpire to shake their hand instead of Svitolina, with boos being rung around Rod Laver Arena with them not understanding what was going on.

Svitolina would not pose for photos with Sabalenka ahead of the match, and after losing her first contest of 2026 abided by what the sign stated which indicated to the fans that no handshake would be offered at the end.

The most recent clash was her second defeat of 2026 against Anna Kalinskaya in the Qatar Open last-16 in a surprising result. Svitolina would respond in emphatic fashion as she reached the final of the WTA 1000 tournament in Dubai, defeating the likes of Belinda Bencic and Coco Gauff along the way. She would lose out to an inform Jessica Pegula but her start to the year has sent a message out to everyone that she is going to be a real threat for the biggest titles as the year goes on.