Tennis star Elina Svitolina has released another statement with more details on her shock split with Gael Monfils.
The pair dropped a bomb earlier this week, confirming their five-year marriage had come to an end.
Svitolina had originally attributed part of the marriage breakdown to her mental state due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
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The 32-year-old copped some backlash for the reasoning, but has since provided more clarity on the situation.
“I just want to clarify my previous post a little, because I realised that not everyone, especially my international audience, fully understood what I was trying to say,” she wrote on social media.
“In that post, I shared only one of the reasons that influenced my decision and made me reflect on my life and my future. But the truth is, there’s so much more to it, and it was never just about one thing.
“When you’ve been living through the reality of war for more than 4.5 years, experiencing so many different situations, emotions, and difficult moments, you naturally start seeing life differently. Your perspective changes, your values and priorities shift, and you begin to understand what you truly want out of life.
“At some point, I simply realised 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.”
The separation reportedly hit Monfils like a ton of bricks and explains his sudden retirement. The 40-year-old had already announced this season would be his last, but had planned to bid an emotional farewell to the sport at the Paris Masters.
However, he quietly removed himself from the International Tennis Integrity Agency anti-doping testing pool on October 5, making him immediately ineligible for tour events.
“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,” Svitolina continued.
“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.
“I just hope this helps you understand a little better what I was trying to say but please be kind and understanding, this is incredibly tough for us both right now.”
The couple share a four-year-old daughter together and remain committed to being parents together.
They recently played mixed doubles together at the US Open, reaching the semi-finals.
Monfils bid adieu to grand slam tennis with a hard-fought loss to Learner Tien in the second round of the US Open in September.
Before bowing out, he became the oldest man to win a match at the tournament since Jimmy Connors in 1992, who also did so on his 40th birthday.
One of the most charismatic players of his generation, Monfils was renowned for his athleticism, flair and crowd-pleasing style. He won 13 ATP Tour singles titles, lifting his first trophy in Poland in 2005 and his last in Auckland in January 2025.
Monfils’ best grand slam results were semi-final appearances at the French Open in 2008 and the US Open in 2016.
He previously said he was at peace with the decision to retire and has signed on with a Swiss company to work in wealth management.
Meanwhile, Svitolina is enjoying a sensational season that culminated in her return to the top 10 for the first since October 2021.
She is currently ranked No.6 in the world and has already secured her spot in the season-ending WTA finals in Indian Wells next month.
