Elina Svitolina picks husband Gael Monfils as her "preferred" thing in France, reveals hardships of playing tennis as a mother and more
Elina Svitolina recently picked her husband Gael Monfils as her preferred thing in France and weighed in on the sacrifices she has to make as a mother in order to play on tour.
Svitolina last made an appearance on the court in September at the 2023 US Open. She went past Anna-Lena Friedsam and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova before bowing out of the New York Major with a loss to Jessica Pegula in the third round.
The Ukrainian has been struggling with an injury to her right foot since Wimbledon. The pain forced her to withdraw from the Cincinnati Masters in August. But lately, she was spotted cheering Monfils during his title-winning campaign at the Stockholm Open.
Monfils defeated Pavel Kotov in the final to secure a 12th overall and second singles trophy in Stockholm, Sweden.
Svitolina recently held a Q&A session on social media where she invited her fans and followers to post their questions. She was asked to reveal her favorite thing in France among other things. She posted a picture of her French husband Monfils in response.
A fan asked the 2023 Wimbledon semifinalist what, according to her, was the hardest thing about motherhood. She uploaded a picture of her daughter Skai at an airport and replied:
"Being apart from her."
Svitolina roped in former Dutch tennis player Raemon Sluiter as her head coach when she returned to on-court action in April after the maternity break. A follower asked the Ukrainian about her camaraderie with Sluiter. She answered:
"Love it! He loves stroopwafels as much as me."
The 29-year-old also shared a recovery update in an exchange with a follower.
"Finally. I received the green light from doctors to begin training very soon," she stated.
Here are a few more replies Svitolina posted:
Gael Monfils - "I and Elina Svitolina are making sacrifices"
Gael Monfils believes that he and his wife Elina Svitolina are making sacrifices while traveling to different parts of the world, leaving their daughter Skai behind. He said in a press conference ahead of the 2023 Paris Masters:
"We are traveling, both of us, we are making sacrifices, her [Elina Svitolina] and I alike. We don't want to be selfish. The two of us are selfish, and that's rule No. 1 when you're parents."
Monfils stated he is keen on finding a solution that keeps his family together for the most part of the season.
"So there [are] a lot of questions to answer. How can we, the three of us, find a way and find the right momentum without leaving out Skai on the line," he said.
Monfils recently crashed out of the last Masters-1000 tournament of the season with a loss at the hands of Francisco Cerundolo in the opening round.