Svitolina and Monfils split: the announcement on Instagram

Elina Svitolina and Gaël Monfils are separating. The Ukrainian player announced it on Monday, October 19, in a message posted on both of their Instagram profiles:

"This is the most difficult thing I have ever had to share. Over time I have understood that I need to find my way back to myself and that I cannot do that within our marriage."

Svitolina, 32, links her decision to the weight of Russia's war against Ukraine. She describes sleepless nights, doubts, the feeling of losing herself. Of Monfils she writes: "He never let go of my hand," then adds: "There is no one to blame here." The two, married since 2021, have a four-year-old daughter, Skai:

"Our marriage is ending, but our family is not. We will always be her parents, side by side."

The announcement comes five days after news of Monfils' retirement. On October 14 it emerged that the ITIA had added the 40-year-old Frenchman to its official list of retired players, which rules out the farewell he was expected to make at the Paris Masters 1000 in November. His last match remains the loss to Learner Tien in the second round of the US Open.

On court, Svitolina has already secured her place at the WTA Finals, scheduled for November in Indian Wells. She clinched it last week in Wuhan by beating Liudmila Samsonova 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 in the second round. In May she won the Internazionali d'Italia, beating Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-2 in the final: her third title in Rome and the 20th of her career.