“My level is there…I’m not getting any younger” – Svitolina on challenges of playing the best

Elina Svitolina spoke to the media following her defeat at the hands of Elena Rybakina – and said she has had some physical struggles this year that meant she was not overly confident heading into Roland-Garros.

“You have to be 100% all the time when you play players top 5, top 10. It doesn’t matter if it’s Rybakina or someone else. You have to be ready for big battle. You have to be super reactive. I feel like I’m getting [there] physically. I’m not 100% yet, but I feel like we do everything possible every single day with my team to get there, to give myself a good chance.

“I had great matches here, which [is] already a big step for me because coming into this tournament I was not feeling good. I was not in the right place, but then I fought hard. I had good conversations with my team who gave me the confidence. You know, with the work that we do, we made this step, and I actually found myself in the fourth round and playing not bad, I would say. So for me I try to take positives from this and move forward.”

Svitolina: I’m not that far from good form

Asked whether her injury was related to her ankle problem, she replied that she was troubled by a back issue that had been ongoing since the Australian Open.

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“Sometimes it’s responding good to the treatments that we do, sometimes it’s not. So every time that we have the little blocks of — like right now is going to be before grass, so we try to do scan to see if it’s improving, if it’s not. Then, you know, try to do something or take some weeks off.

“Like right now I will take a little bit of time off, as much as I can, since the grass court season is just around the corner, but try to take care of myself as much as possible. For sure I’m not getting younger, so it takes little bit more time for me.”

On the specific challenges of playing the best in the world and what she needed to do to improve her results against them, she added: “I feel like my level is there, but of course, you know, little bit of everything. Handling nerves better. Sometimes I’m not doing it in the right way. Sometimes the players is playing great.

“It’s all the time have been different kind of things. Sometimes it happens; sometimes not. Sometimes, you know, just trying to hang in there and do my best. I feel like I’m not that far from the good form and beating them as well, but I try to focus on my health. I have to really be 100% to play consistently, to challenge these players.”

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