Svitolina and Zhadan write a children's book, "The First Racket"
Elina Svitolina and writer Serhiy Zhadan have presented a joint children's book, "The First Racket", Ukrinform reports.
The story follows two schoolchildren. Alina dreams of returning to her native Kharkiv and continuing with tennis, while adjusting to a new school in Kyiv and a new coach who barely notices her. Her classmate Senia dreams of the stage: he already has a band, though with no name or songs yet, and just a month to write his first track. He decides to help Alina, even as he goes through a hard time himself.
According to the authors, the book is about Ukrainian children growing up, looking for themselves and for motivation, and getting through difficulties to success. It comes out on 15 October 2026 from Ranok publishers; pre-orders are open.
