Elina Svitolina announces divorce from Gaël Monfils

Elina Svitolina has announced that her marriage to Gaël Monfils is ending, while making clear that they will continue to raise their daughter together. The Ukrainian player said their family would remain united around Skai, who was born in October 2022.

Svitolina and Monfils married in the summer of 2021, several months after an earlier separation. In explaining the decision, Svitolina described the effect of the war in Ukraine on her mental state, including periods when she felt lost and needed to step away from tennis. She said Monfils had supported her throughout that struggle, but that she now needed to rebuild her sense of self outside the marriage.

Monfils, 40, has not played competitively since losing to Learner Tien in the second round of the US Open on September 3. He had been expected to appear at the Lyon tournament before ending his career at the Paris Masters, but the International Tennis Integrity Agency had already recorded him as retired from October 5, despite invitations to several events intended to mark his farewell.

The announcement ends the couple’s marriage but not their shared role as parents. Svitolina said Skai would remain their first priority as they continued to stand alongside each other in her life.