Svitolina explains split from coach Sluiter: “I want to see where I am physically and if I want to play a little less”

The Ukrainian said she has to balance her goals with ensuring her body stays as injury-free as possible

Imago/Panoramic

August 27, 2024

When Elina Svitolina announced last month that she was parting ways with Raemon Sluiter, it came as a surprise to the tennis world, the pair having established a working partnership that was the envy of many on the WTA and ATP Tour.

The Dutchman’s coaching expertise was equalled only by his understanding and empathy for Svitolina as she coped with reading daily reports of the horrific attacks on her home country by Russia, following its invasion of Ukraine in March 2022.

Under Sluiter’s guidance, Svitolina returned to the top 20 following pregnancy and enjoyed several deep runs at Grand Slams, including a brilliant performance at Wimbledon in 2023, when she made the semi-finals.

But talking to a small group of reporters at the US Open on Monday, Svitolina explained her decision was down to her own plans for the future, rather than any disagreement with Sluiter.

“We had a good run together,” said Svitolina, smiling after a three-set win over Maria Lourdes Carle of Argentina. “We achieved quite a lot in my comeback, coming back to the top 20. He’s a very nice person, a good coach.

“It’s just, for me, it was a moment where I want to to see where I am physically and how I want to move forward, also with the tournaments, if I want to play maybe a little bit less tournaments, because I want to take care of my fitness. It was a mixture of different things. It was a mutual decision. After a good talk, it was the best decision for me to take.”

“If the ranking didn’t matter so much, I would play less”

In an ideal world, Svitolina said she would not play anywhere near as many tournaments as she does at the moment, both to protect her body – she has suffered with back trouble in recent years, among other injuries – and also to spend more time with her daughter, Skai.

“It’s not easy, the schedule is pretty packed,” she said. “So many tournaments during the season and you need to make some choices, sometimes it’s almost like you’re forced to play more, because more people have more points, and the end of the year it’s always about hustling, getting extra points here and there for the end of the year ranking. It’s not easy.

“Yeah I would play less, if the ranking wouldn’t matter so much, I’d play less, just the tournaments the ones that I really love to go. I’ve been on Tour for so many years, so I know how and where I like to play and I have experience of the scheduling.

“Right now for me, I’m in this kind of situation where I think I would play less tournaments just to take care of my body and also I want to have time with my daughter, since she’s not travelling too much; we don’t take her everywhere because it would be a real hassle for her to travel everywhere.

“It’s all about the balance; you feel like you want to play more, because you want to be higher in the rankings and win tournaments, but it’s also, you need to take care of your mental health and your physicality.”