Svitolina on her foot injury: "I know how difficult it is to get back on the circuit".

Absent from the courts since her elimination in the third round of the US Open by Coco Gauff, Elina Svitolina will be making her return to the main circuit at the Australian Open.

Opposed by another returnee, Sorana Cirstea, in her opening match, the Ukrainian, former world number 3, underwent foot surgery at the end of last year and ended her 2024 season in September.

The winner of the 2018 WTA Finals played a charity match on the Melbourne courts against Zheng Qinwen.

After the match, the 30-year-old took to the court to reflect on the difficult last few months following her operation.

"It was a very complicated end to the season for me last year. I had a stress fracture in my foot which crippled me for a long time, and I played with it for a year.

I'd reached a stage where it was getting hard for me to deal with it, so I decided to have the operation. It's the first operation of my career, and I know how difficult it is to get back on the circuit.

I already came back after my pregnancy, so this is the second time. I'm just trying to train as well as I can, and I spent a lot of time on the courts during the off-season. I hope to be physically ready throughout the year", she began.

Elina Svitolina then returned to the subject of being more regular with her daughter since the end of the summer.

"It's special to have our daughter (Skai, who has just turned 2) traveling with us, spending time with her...

Just talking about it makes me emotional every time. We spent a long preseason on the courts with Gaël, so we're with her more often off the courts.

We try to make the most of it," concluded Svitolina, who has reached the quarter-finals twice in Melbourne (2018 and 2019).