Former world No. 3 Elina Svitolina will make her return to competitive tennis, next month at the Charleston Open in South Carolina after accepting a wild card, organizers of the clay-court tournament said.
Svitolina gave birth to her first child named Skai with husband and fellow tennis star Gael Monfils in 2022 and has recently teased alongside her husband getting back on the court, although Monfils has made a comeback, at the Indian wells, Phoenix challenger and mostly recently the Miami1000 where he had to retire due to an injury early in the 1st set. In the statement, it says she is looking to make her return to tennis in 2023 after giving birth and will work with John Morris from Kosmos as she looks to make her next step in her career as a ‘mother, a world-class athlete and a recognized global humanitarian’.
Svitolina’s last appearance was in Miami last April 2022 when she lost a final set tie-break to Heather Watson. Her ranking has since then hit a huge decline since she stepped away, and she currently sits at World No. 1031. However, she will be hoping to rediscover the form that saw her reach both the Wimbledon and US Open semi-finals in 2019 and show that she can return to the top. Shortly before Christmas, Svitolina shared a picture from a training session with her husband, suggesting that they were celebrating “date night” by training together.
