World No 6 Elina Svitolina has announced she has separated from husband Gael Monfils after five years of marriage. In an emotional Instagram post, the 32-year-old Ukrainian opened up about the mental toll of Russia's ongoing war against her country, describing sleepless nights and self-doubt.
Svitolina said she had come to realise she needed to rediscover herself and could no longer do so within her marriage. "Everyone knows how much Ukraine means to me. What I have rarely spoken about is what the war has done to me inside," she wrote. "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."
She praised Monfils, 40, for listening and respecting her needs "with a strength and grace I will never forget." The couple married in 2021 and have a four-year-old daughter, Skai. "Skai will always come first," Svitolina added. "Our marriage is ending, but our family is not." She added that there was "no one to blame here."
The announcement comes only months after the pair reached the semi-finals of the US Open Mixed Doubles Championship, where they were beaten by Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli. More recently, Svitolina lost in the quarter-finals of the Wuhan Open to Sonay Kartal, who won in three sets.
Source: Sky Sports Champions League · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing