Elina Svitolina has withdrawn from the upcoming WTA 500 tournament in Berlin, opting to skip the German grass-court event scheduled for June 16-22. The Ukrainian tennis star, currently ranked 14th in the world, made this decision before the official draw took place.
The 30-year-old Odesa native isn't abandoning her grass-court preparation entirely, though. She still plans to compete at the WTA 500 event in Bad Homburg, Germany, which runs from June 23 to 29, as her final warm-up before Wimbledon.
"Grass court preparation requires careful planning," tennis analysts note when discussing such pre-Wimbledon scheduling decisions.
Meanwhile, Marta Kostyuk, Ukraine's second-ranked player, has secured a spot in the main draw of the Berlin tournament. The 22-year-old Kyiv native is expected to participate in the qualification rounds.
Interestingly, Svitolina recently made headlines with her impressive comeback at Roland Garros, where she staged a remarkable recovery against world No. 4 Jasmine Paolini. After dropping the first set 4:6, Svitolina fought back to win 7:6 (8:6), 6:1 in their Round of 16 clash.
This performance in Paris demonstrated her fighting spirit and determination - qualities that have made her one of Ukraine's most prominent sports figures. Will Svitolina's strategic tournament planning pay off with a deep run at Wimbledon? Tennis fans won't have to wait long to find out.
