Svitolina Cites War's Toll in Monfils Split — SkimNews
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- Elina Svitolina announced on Instagram the end of her marriage to Gaël Monfils, citing the emotional impact of the war in Ukraine and writing that 'what the war has done to me inside' made staying in the marriage impossible
- The world number six, 32, said she could not 'find my way back to myself' within the marriage, adding that 'no amount of love from someone else can win' the internal battles she is fighting
- Svitolina credited Monfils, the 40-year-old French former tennis player, for 'listening' and 'respecting what I need with a strength and grace I will never forget'
- The couple married in 2021 and share a four-year-old daughter named Skai, whom Svitolina said 'will always come first', adding 'our marriage is ending, but our family is not'
- Svitolina grew up in Odesa — the Black Sea port city she noted has been heavily bombed by Russia throughout the war — and described 'sleepless nights, doubts, and the feeling of slowly losing myself'
- The four-time Grand Slam semi-finalist called the split 'the most difficult thing I have ever had to share' and 'the hardest thing I have ever had to tell the person I love'
Why it matters: Svitolina has been one of Ukraine's most prominent athletic voices since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, making her a high-profile example of how the war is reshaping lives far beyond the battlefield. For Monfils, the split ends a widely followed 'tennis power couple' pairing that began with their 2021 marriage.
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