Elina Svitolina rejected $500k offer to play for Russia
Elina Svitolina, the Ukrainian tennis player, was once offered a proposal to represent Russia. In an interview, she revealed the staggering amount of money the Russians were willing to pay her to play for their country.
Elina Svitolina is one of Ukraine's top tennis players. Throughout her career, she has won 17 tournaments, and at the Tokyo Olympics, she claimed a bronze medal. In 2018, she became the champion of the WTA Finals, and a year later, she reached the finals of these competitions.
Thanks to these successes, Svitolina has significantly contributed to the popularization of women's tennis in Ukraine. Largely because of her influence, more Ukrainian women have shown interest in the sport. Currently, there are five female tennis players from Ukraine in the top hundred of the WTA ranking.
The Russians offered Elina Svitolina a chance to represent their country
The story could have been different, as Elina Svitolina was once offered the chance to represent Russia. The 30-year-old shared in an interview with the "Ukrayinska Pravda" website that the Russians offered her a significant amount of money to play for them.
The proposal was to play under the Russian flag, but I didn't consider it. They promised $500,000 a year. Other countries also made offers. They proposed programs that invested in my future and development in tennis, but only if I represented their national colors, said the Ukrainian tennis player.
She emphasized that she never considered such an option. "It was a long time ago. For me, changing my country was never an option. When I began my career, I had all the conditions for development in Kharkiv," she stressed.
Currently, Elina Svitolina ranks 23rd in the WTA rankings with a total of 1,942 points.
