MELBOURNE, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Elina Svitolina said ‌she would not permit herself to be sad following her Australian Open semi-final loss to ‌Aryna Sabalenka, adding that she was lucky to be playing tennis while people are ‌suffering in her Ukraine homeland.

Svitolina bowed out of her first semi-final at Melbourne Park with a 6-2 6-3 defeat to top-seeded Belarusian Sabalenka in a match overshadowed by geopolitical tensions.