"I felt like someone shot me in the back": Elina Svitolina says her back was completely locked in horrifying Australian Open retirement

Elina Svitolina was forced to retire from the 2024 Australian Open after horrifying scenes out on Margaret Court Arena for fans of the Ukrainian who was 3-0 down and could barely serve due to an issue with her back. This allowed Linda Noskova a route through to the Quarter-Finals on a night when Victoria Azarenka also lost to Dayana Yastremska meaning the already most open top half of a draw in years gets even more open

Painful to watch with Svitolina having tears in her eyes, she said in her post match press conference that it felt like she had been shot in the back which she revealed had completely locked during the opening exchanges of her match with the Czech teenager. A heartbreaking end to a superb week which saw Svitolina continue to play some of the tennis of her life.

“I got a spasm, or I don't know exactly what it is, but like shooting pain in the first game, the last two points. Yeah, couldn't do anything. Completely locked my back. Just very sad, of course, so yeah," she said.
“I felt little bit, but it's quite normal. Been playing some tennis in this tournament already. You know, fourth round, you have a little bit stiffness somewhere. Nothing really special. Like not a big issue before. Yeah, this one I think I never had that before, the shooting pain like this. I had some injuries to my back before where it just was tiredness the next day of the match, but this one was really out of nowhere. I felt like someone shot me in the back, so yeah," she continued.