The long-lived political situation between Russia and Ukraine turned into a full-fledged conflict in February. The clash between these two countries after a long age of physical peace brought the entire world to a standstill. Ukrainians from all sectors spoke about the brutality of the situation. Further, in the case of tennis, Elina Svitolina acted as the flag-bearer.

The former world no.3 has spoken on a variety of platforms to bring the severity of her nation’s situation to attention. Moreover, she is acting as constant support to her family and friends who are still in Ukraine. Recently, while speaking to the press, Svitolina spoke about the conditions her family is surviving in, especially her grandmother.

Elina Svitolina speaks about the reality of her people in Ukraine

Svitolina has been vocal about the harsh conditions the citizens of her homeland are dealing with. This time she spoke about her own grandmother, who currently is caught in the midst of the conflict.

She said, “Living through another war is very hard for older people. The lack of food, locking themselves in the basement for several days. It’s really hard for them and very demanding on a mental level. I try to keep in touch with her (their grandmother). And help as much as I can, because she’s too old to be able to move on her own.”

“She’s with her cat, which she says is our biggest supporter. My uncles live not far from her. They see each other as much as they can when they get a chance leaving home, and they are a great help. Our friends also help and go there.” She added.

Read more: Ukrainian Tennis Player Narrates Grand Parents’ Misery Amid the Ongoing Conflict

Svitolina also added that how she wishes to see her family back in Ukraine, which on today’s date looks like a dream, and said, “I hope that all this pain will end one day and I can travel to Odessa to visit her.”

How has the conflict affected Svitolina’s tennis?

The 27-year-old started the year with the hard courts of Australia. After failing to secure a decent run in the Adelaide Open, she entered the first Grand Slam of the year. At the Australian Open, the  2019 quarterfinalist was thrown out by the two times Grand Slam champion Victoria Azarenka in the third round only.

Thereafter, she admitted that the situations back in her country and her inability to do anything to help have affected her mentally.

Watch this story: Tiger Woods or Serena Williams who is richer

In fact, her husband and fellow tennis player Gael Monfils also spoke about the extent to which the matter has affected her. Following that, Svitolina gave a similar performance in the Dubai International championship and Qatar Open and simultaneously became more involved in debates about the conflict. Thus, by the end of the hard court season, she could only record a quarterfinal run in Monterrey Open.