Elina Svitolina has issued a second statement in as many days about her split from husband Gael Monfils after reports said it prompted him to end his career earlier than planned.
On Monday, the women’s world No. 6 confirmed she is divorcing Gael Monfils, whom she married in 2021, and they have a daughter together. Svitolina linked her decision for the split to the ongoing war in her native Ukraine and the emotional impact it has had on her. In her first statement on Monday, she said Monfils “listened” and “respected what I need with a strength and grace I will never forget”.
The announcement came after Monfils unexpectedly placed himself on the International Tennis Integrity Agency’s list of inactive players, which made him ineligible to play in Tour events. He was due to play in Lyon but withdrew due to ‘personal reasons’ and was also expected to play at the Paris Masters.
The Frenchman has yet to speak publicly about the split. However, newspaper L’équipe reported that “When Monfils learned the news, it hit him like a ton of bricks, and tennis, which he had often experienced as a kind of gentle madness, suddenly lost all meaning. He was no longer able to play.”
This report, along with other comments, has prompted Svitolina to issue another statement ‘clarifying’ the situation.
“I realised that not everyone, especially my international audience, fully understood what I was trying to say. In that post, I shared only one of the reasons that influenced my decision and made me reflect on my life and my future. But the truth is, there’s so much more to it, and it was never just about one thing,’ she wrote.
“Many different situations, emotions, and difficult moments, you naturally start seeing life differently. Your perspective changes, your values and priorities shift, and you begin to understand what you truly want out of life.
“At some point, I simply realised that I didn’t want to keep living a life where I wasn’t truly happy. And believe me, coming to this decision was anything but easy.
“I love and respect my husband very much. And I will always love and appreciate him for the person he is. That’s exactly why it was so important for me to be honest, both with him and with myself.”
Svitolina then confirmed that Monfils’ decision to stop playing was due to their marriage breaking down.
“It’s not always possible to explain everything behind such personal and difficult decisions in a single post. And honestly, some things are simply too personal to share publicly. That was and is my view on announcing the end of our marriage but as some of you saw, Gael’s career ended abruptly after he made the decision to stop based on our situation. Unfortunately he had many accusations thrown at him and he didn’t deserve that, so we jointly released a statement,” she continued.
“I just hope this helps you understand a little better what I was trying to say but please be kind and understanding, this is incredibly tough for us both right now.”
Svitolina is scheduled to return to action next week at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Japan. She has already qualified for the WTA Finals, becoming the first Mother on the Tour to do so since Kim Clijsters in 2010.
