Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils are separating. The Ukrainian tennis star, 32, and the French player, 40, announced the split in a joint Instagram post on Monday, October 19, according to Just Jared. Married for more than five years.
Elina wrote the statement herself. Her first line: “This is the most difficult thing I have ever had to share.”
The Announcement of Elina Svitolina’s Separation
Just Jared reported that Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils announced their separation in a joint Instagram post. Elina explained why she was leaving. Not another person. Not a fight. The war in her home country.
Elina and Gael share a daughter, Skai, and both made clear they remain committed to raising her together. Elina also asked for privacy for the family as they adjust.
Their story started in Paris in 2018, per People, as cited by Just Jared. They dated for three years before announcing their engagement in April 2021, and the wedding followed in July of that year. Their daughter arrived after that. Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils announced their separation after more than five years of marriage. Both athletes continued competing professionally during their marriage and supported each other at tournaments. They also played mixed doubles together at the US Open. Semifinals.
Semifinalists together. Separated a few weeks later.
What the War Did to Her Inside
Elina has been one of the most visible Ukrainian athletes since Russia’s invasion began. Publicly, she kept playing. Privately, according to her statement, something else was happening. She wrote that the war has taken an emotional toll on her over the past several years, and Just Jared reported that she described sleepless nights, doubts, and a sense of losing herself. She also said she had rarely spoken about what the war had done to her on the inside.
Gael’s support is part of her own account. She did not describe a husband who failed to show up. She described one who did. Still not enough to stop her from losing her footing.
Elina said the part most breakup statements skip, and it is the hardest thing in this one. A marriage can be loving and supportive and still be the wrong place for someone to put themselves back together. Pressure from outside a relationship does not always crack the relationship first. Sometimes it cracks one person, and the marriage becomes the place where that person can no longer pretend to be fine. Elina named that plainly. She said she could not find her way back to herself while staying in the marriage. Just Jared reported that she called the realization extremely painful.
What Elina Svitolina Said About Her Decision
Blame was the thing she worked hardest to rule out. Elina Svitolina said neither person was at fault for the separation. In a joint post, with his name on it too, that line carries real weight.
Gael put his name to the explanation.
She praised him directly. According to Just Jared, she thanked Gael for respecting her decision and for supporting her through their relationship. She also said they had worked through difficult times together before reaching this point. Order matters here. She did not leave at the first sign of trouble. By her own account, they tried. Then she decided the work she needed to do was work she had to do alone.
Gael has not said anything publicly beyond the joint post. Neither has said how their schedules on tour will change, or where the family will be based. What they have said is that their daughter comes first and that nobody is the villain.
Five years of marriage, a semifinal run together, and a statement that ends with both of them still on the same side.
Sources: Just Jared
