Recently, the Olympic bronze medalist, Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina, together with former tennis player, winner of four ATP titles, and now a member of the National Guard Serhiy Stakhovsky, held a master class for young athletes at the Leoland Sports Center, UNN reports.
The main inspirer of Leoland, Oleksandr Svishchov, said that after the announcement of the event and the star coaches, the number of participants reached several hundred within a few hours. And the total number of participants was almost 500 children aged 6 to 16.
"We realized that the arrival of Elina Svitolina and Serhiy Stakhovsky at Leoland would cause a stir among young athletes. But, I must admit, we were amazed at the number of people who wanted to attend the master class: within two hours, we received several hundred parents who registered their children for the event. During the event, it was a pleasure 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. That is why our sports complex is happy to open its doors to such good projects," said Oleksandr Svishchov.
The tennis master class was also attended by Ukrainian soldiers undergoing rehabilitation at the Unbroken Center. For most of them, it was their debut in this sport, and they held rackets for the first time. However, they shared that after this master class they plan to continue their lessons as tennis has captured their interest.
"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," shared his impressions defender Volodymyr Rudkovsky.
Elina Svitolina noted that Ukraine is a very talented nation and that the master class was attended by many talented children. The athlete said that such events help to discover even more future tennis stars.
"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. It takes a lot of time and effort, but it is the least we can do for our country and its future," emphasized Elina Svitolina.
Serhiy Stakhovsky, in turn, added that due to lack of time, they are unable to organize longer events, but even such small workshops give children a lot of positive emotions: "It's a pity we don't have enough time. They all want more, and we just don't have the physical capacity, so it all goes very quickly. But we do what we can for the children.
Similar master classes will be held in other cities of Ukraine, the star athletes noted.
Oleksandr Yuriyovych Svishchov emphasized that after the master class and the emotions that Elina Svitolina and Serhiy Stakhovsky gave the children, and the openness and sincerity with which they treated the children, the idea of holding a summer camp and other interesting projects for children at the Leoland courts arose. Now, more than ever, it is important to give children the opportunity to develop both physically and mentally, the businessman said.
Oleksandr Svishchov said that during the year of the Leoland sports and entertainment complex's operation, children began to play tennis on a massive scale. There are major tennis tournaments every month. The complex also has a school for the youngest athletes called LeoSport.
"We have already managed to hold Ukrainian championships among children and adults, which have not been held in Lviv for more than a decade. I think this is a great breakthrough. For me personally, it is very valuable that children in Lviv have fallen in love with tennis in a new way and even more, I see this enthusiasm in their eyes during the competition, these are invaluable emotions. I can say that we are making good progress and are confidently moving forward in the education of young tennis players," Svishchov summarized.