Lingering back injury forces Svitolina to end her season early

Elina Svitolina has finally been forced to call time on her 2024 season, with the Ukrainian superstar succumbing to a lingering back injury that has hampered much of her competitive play throughout the year.

The 30-year-old star gave birth to her first daughter, Skai, in May two years ago and made her return to the WTA Tour in early 2023. She nearly immediately hit the ground running, making it all the way to the Wimbledon semifinals and appearing in the last eight at Roland Garros, as well as clinching her 17th top-level title in Strasbourg.

Svitolina’s 2024 has been less happy though, with a back injury causing problems.

After making it back into the top 20 to start her campaign, the Ukrainian missed several big tournaments as she battled with her back issues. She made it to all four Grand Slams, even managing a Wimbledon quarterfinal, but has now been forced to pull the plug early.

“I had a good season, I already finished it because I got injured. To finish this year in the top 30 is a good result, considering I was injured more this season,” the former World No.3 told tennis media on Friday.

“The Olympics went well. Unfortunately, I couldn’t bring home a medal, but there were great victories. Did I manage to approach the Games at the peak of my form, given the [back] injury? No, I didn’t manage to do so at the peak. I didn’t play as I wanted in the following tournaments because I was injured… I wanted more, I wanted to play better.

“Now I’ll treat my injuries. I hope that I can start my next season better.”

We’ll likely see Svitolina, who turned 30 this week, return to play in the Australia Summer.