Elina Svitolina Clears Up Her Reason For Divorce From Gael Monfils

Sports admin October 20, 2026 0 Comments

Elina Svitolina Clears Up Her Reason For Divorce From Gael Monfils

Women’s tennis star Elina Svitolina shocked the community this week when she announced that she’s calling off her marriage with fellow tennis star Gael Monfils.

Monfils and Svitolina have been married since July 2021 and welcomed their first child into the world in October 2022. In her announcement on Monday morning, Svitolina said Ukraine’s war with Russia has taken a toll on her. The Ukrainian athlete hasn’t been shy with her feelings about this situation.

“Everyone knows how much Ukraine means to me. What I have rarely spoken about is what the war has done to me inside. 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,” Svitolina wrote on Instagram. “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. 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. 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. Gaël listened. He has respected what I need with a strength and grace I will never forget.

“… 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. We ask for your kindness and for the space we need to heal.”

View this post on Instagram

Svitolina is clearing the air.

Tennis fans were a bit thrown off by Svitolina’s social media post Monday since it sounded like she was strictly blaming the war between Ukraine and Russia for her marriage coming to an end.

Earlier this Tuesday, fans received another statement from Svitolina.

“At some point, I simply realized that I didn’t want to keep living a life where I wasn’t truly happy. And believe me, coming to this decision was anything but easy. I love and respect my husband very much. And I will always love and appreciate him for the person he is. That’s exactly why it was so important for me to be honest, both with him and with myself,” she said in her follow-up statement. “It’s not always possible to explain everything behind such personal and difficult decisions in a single post. And honestly, some things are simply too personal to share publicly. That was and is my view on announcing the end of our marriage but as some of you saw, Gael’s career ended abruptly after he made the decision to stop based on our situation. Unfortunately he had many accusations thrown at him and he didn’t deserve that, so we jointly released a statement.”

Svitolina recently qualified for the WTA Finals. It’s unclear if her situation off the court will force her to miss that end-of-season tournament.

This story was originally published October 20, 2026 at 12:28 PM.