Elina Svitolina announces separation from Gaël Monfils
Ukrainian tennis star Elina Svitolina said she and her husband, French player Gaël Monfils, have separated, the Guardian and Sky Sports reported. In an Instagram post, she said the war in Ukraine had taken a toll on her. The couple married in 2021 and have a four-year-old daughter.
Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina has announced that she has separated from her husband, French player Gaël Monfils, the Guardian and Sky Sports reported.
In an emotional Instagram post, the 32-year-old opened up about the mental toll of Russia's war against her country, describing sleepless nights and self-doubt, the Guardian and Sky Sports reported. She said she had come to realize she needed to rediscover herself and could no longer do so within her marriage, the Guardian and Sky Sports reported.
"This is the most difficult thing I have ever had to share," Svitolina wrote, according to the Guardian and Sky Sports. "Everyone knows how much Ukraine means to me. What I have rarely spoken about is what the war has done to me inside," she wrote, the Guardian reported.
"It is the hardest truth I have ever had to face and the hardest thing I have ever had to tell the person I love. Gaël listened. He has respected what I need with a strength and grace I will never forget," she wrote, according to the Guardian and Sky Sports.
Svitolina, the world No 6 and a four-time Grand Slam semifinalist, married Monfils, 40, a former world No 6, in 2021, the Guardian reported. They have a four-year-old daughter, Skai, the Guardian and Sky Sports reported. "Skai will always come first," Svitolina wrote. "Our marriage is ending, but our family is not," the Guardian reported.
"Please know that there is no one to blame here," she wrote, according to the Guardian and Sky Sports.
Only a few months ago the couple reached the semifinals of the US Open mixed doubles together, Sky Sports reported. Monfils, who won 13 career titles, had been expected to retire after a farewell appearance at the Paris Masters, which begins on October 31, but he now appears on the International Tennis Integrity Agency's list of retired players, the Guardian reported.
What we know: Svitolina announced the separation on Instagram, citing the toll of the war, and said the couple's daughter comes first.
What we don't: Monfils has not commented publicly beyond what Svitolina shared.
Where outlets agree The Guardian and Sky Sports report that Svitolina announced on Instagram that she and Monfils have separated, citing the toll of the war in Ukraine.
Where they differ The outlets cited here report the same key facts so far.