World No. 6 Elina Svitolina announced Monday that she and fellow tennis player Gael Monfils are ending their marriage.
Svitolina, in a post on Instagram, cited the emotional toll of her native Ukraine’s war with Russia as a need to find herself.
“Everyone knows how much Ukraine means to me. What I have rarely spoken about is what the war has done to me inside,” Svitolina wrote. “Last year, I told you I needed to step away from the court because I wasn’t in the right emotional space. Today, I want to open up a little more. What you didn’t see were the sleepless nights, the doubts, and the feeling of slowly losing myself.
“Gael saw all of it. He never let go of my hand. We fought through this together for a long time, with everything we had. But some battles happen deep inside you, and no amount of love from someone else can win them for you.”
Svitolina, 32, and Monfils, 40, married in July 2021. They welcomed a daughter, Skai, in October 2022.
“With time, I came to understand that I need to find my way back to myself and that I cannot do that within our marriage,” Svitolina wrote. “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. Gael listened. He has respected what I need with a strength and grace I will never forget.
“Gael has loved me through my greatest joys and my darkest moments, and I have loved him with all my heart. Together, we built a beautiful life, and we were given the most precious gift of all, our daughter, Skai.
“Skai will always come first. Our marriage is ending, but our family is not. We will always be her parents, side by side, at every step of her life. Please know that there is no one to blame here. There are only two people who loved each other deeply and a story that is changing shape.”
A 20-time WTA winner, Svitolina was a semifinalist at this year’s Australian Open. She also is a two-time Wimbledon semifinalist (2019, 2023) and 2019 U.S. Open semifinalist.
Monfils won 13 ATP Tour titles and reached a career-high world ranking of No. 6 in 2016. The Frenchman reached Grand Slam semifinals at the French Open in 2008 and at the U.S. Open in 2016.
After announcing that 2026 would be his final season, Monfils retired earlier this month, with his final match coming in the second round of the U.S. Open against Learner Tien on Sept. 3.
–Field Level Media
