Tennis star Elina Svitolina swapped her racket for a rocket launcher as she returned to Ukraine during the off-season.

Svitolina, ranked 23rd in the world, has often used her platform as one of the country’s most successful players on the tour to draw attention to the war in Ukraine.

She continued that trend on Monday afternoon after sharing pictures of herself holding a rocket launcher and a machine gun in Kharkiv, Ukraine.

Taking to instagram, the 30-year-old wrote: ‘Kharkiv has a special place in my heart.

‘The city that gave the feeling of real home when I started my professional career here at 12 years old. The city that continues to provide warmth and protection during the great war.

‘If you ask me, where do I find the motivation to fight in sports arenas? This is my country, my people, my Kharkiv and our heroes’.

Tennis star Elina Svitolina shared pictures of herself holding a rocket launcher on Instagram

The Ukrainian said her motivation comes from ‘my country, my Kharkiv and our heroes’

Svitolina is currently the world No 23 and has previously reached a highest ranking of third

According to Bild, Svitolina – who is married to fellow tennis star Gael Monfils – often spends her spare time in Ukraine aiding in the fight against Russia.

The Ukrainian will soon leave her homeland to get her preparations underway for the upcoming Australian Open, which is just over a month away. 

Svitolina has reached career-high rankings of No 3 in singles and No 108 in doubles by the WTA and won 17 WTA Tour singles titles.

She began playing tennis at the age of five in the Ukrainian city of Odesa where she lived with her sporting parents and her older brother Yulian, who is nine years older than her. 

Speaking to Mail Sport last year, Svitolina spoke on how her family’s decision to move to Kharkiv to pursue her coaching nearly came unstuck due to her mother’s career as a professional bowls player. 

She said: ‘At that time my mum was into professional bowling. My mom is very competitive, and likes achieving.

‘It was important that before we move to Kharkiv… Mum had to wrap it up with professional bowling despite her competing at the national championships.

‘She trained for seven to eight hours a day. For the first couple of months I was in Kharkiv alone. I was in a rented apartment.

‘In the morning I was picked up by the coach. At the end of the day I was brought back to the apartment. And it was very important for me to be back before it got dark. I was a very shy child. Those were my first steps to independent life.’

The 30-year-old also showed a picture of herself operating a machine gun while lying down 

Another photo showed the Ukrainian using a machine gun from within a sheltered area

Svitolina has often used her platform to draw attention to the war in Ukraine

Elina agreed the regime was hard work, saying: ‘Yes, yes. But I am grateful for that time because I became more independent. At the weekends I was walking around Kharkiv by myself to learn what to show my mum when she visits.’

Describing her life as a 12-year-old living alone, she said: ‘Kharkiv is a very interesting city, totally different from Odesa. People are not as open, that’s what I remember the most. That city fit me a lot, I lived close to a park.

She also told how she family struggled to make ends meet during her younger days before she became a poster girl for Ukrainian sport.

Elina said: ‘When we moved to Kharkiv, it was a crisis time. My dad was into the real estate business, and it was very hard. And when my mom arrived, we had a budget, not a very big one, which we could spend on food.’