In late February, titled Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina (WTA #17) together with former tennis player and current National Guard soldier Serhiy Stakhovsky held a master class for young tennis players at the Leoland sports complex in Lviv.
“There are a lot of talented children in Ukraine. We are already taking care of many of them, but such master classes help to discover even more tennis players, so we continue to organize them. It takes a lot of time and effort, but it’s the least we can do for our country and its future. There are a lot of children here today, even more than we expected. These are very positive emotions, so we are very happy to be here,” emphasized Elina Svitolina.
As soon as the organizers announced the event on social media that famous tennis stars would visit the Leoland sports complex, the number of people wishing to attend the master class reached several hundred in a short period of time.
“We realized that the arrival of Elina Svitolina and Serhiy Stakhovsky in “Leoland” will cause a stir among young athletes. But, I must admit, we were amazed by the number of people who wanted to attend the workshop: in two hours, we had several hundred parents who registered their children for the event. During the event, it was very pleasant to watch the children, they were happy to have the opportunity to talk to Elina and Sergey, get an autograph and take a photo. The children’s eyes were shining, and we all miss these sincere emotions now. Therefore, our sports complex is happy to open its doors to such good projects,” said the investor of the sports complex “Leoland Oleksandr Svishchov
Almost five hundred young athletes – boys and girls of different ages from 6 to 16 years old – took part in the master class. According to Elina Svitolina, they plan to hold similar workshops in other cities of Ukraine in the near future.
“It’s a shame that we don’t have much time. They all want more, and we just don’t have the physical capacity, so it’s all going very quickly. But we are doing what we can for the children,” adds Serhiy Stakhovsky. The tennis event was also attended by Ukrainian soldiers undergoing rehabilitation at the Unbroken Center. Most of the boys were holding rackets for the first time in their lives, but they were so enthusiastic about tennis that they now want to continue their lessons.
“I enjoyed playing tennis today and talking to Elina and Sergey. Such events have a very positive impact both for the children and for us. For socialization, for seeing what is happening in civilian life, but also for those little buttons who will play now. This is our future, we have to do everything for them,” said defense lawyer Volodymyr Rudkovsky.
During the visit to the sports complex, the Elina Svitolina Foundation and the management of the Leoland sports complex discussed the future possibility of organizing similar interesting projects for children on the courts of the complex.
“We saw how loving Elina and Serhiy are to their children and how they managed to give them positive emotions. It is important for us that Ukrainian children have the opportunity to develop both physically and mentally during the war. That is why we discussed with Elina Svitolina the possibility of holding a summer camp for children at the Leoland courts. We want to organize a sports camp together with Svitolina’s foundation. Now I can say that this event will take place in the summer. We will soon inform you about the format and time of the camp,” emphasized Mr. Svishchov.
According to the tennis stars themselves, similar master classes will be held in other Ukrainian cities.
