"She will have a lot of pressure, which is tough" - Gael Monfils on why he won't push his and Elina Svitolina's daughter Skai to pursue tennis
Gael Monfils has opened up on the reason behind his and wife Elina Svitolina's decision not to push their daughter Skai towards pursuing a career in tennis.
In July 2021, Monfils and Svitolina tied the knot, and then became parents in October 2022 as they welcomed daughter Skai into the world. Svitolina's social media post on her daughter's first birthday featured a picture of Skai alongside Monfils on a tennis court with a racquet, possibly hinting at a career in the sport for the little one.
However, in a recent interview with Tennis Insider Club, Monfils said that neither he nor Svitolina would push Skai to become a tennis player. According to the veteran Frenchman, tennis players have to make a lot of sacrifices, but he maintained that if Skai wants to play tennis, she can.
"Please not (on Skai potentially pursuing a tennis career). But I tell everybody it's fine guys. There's a lot of sacrifice. No, the thing is a little bit different for our daughter. If she wants to play, she will play," Monfils said.
The former ATP World No. 6 went on to talk about the kind of pressure Skai would have to deal with if she chooses to play tennis professionally, being the daughter of established players like himself and former WTA World No. 3 Svitolina.
"I won't push it. The thing is because she will have a lot of pressure from the beginning, which is tough because she's the daughter of Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils," he added.
Gael Monfils talked about the difficulties of being on tour away from daughter Skai earlier this year
During the Qatar Open in February, Monfils gave an interview to Tennis Majors, where he talked about missing Skai when he had to spend weeks away from home.
"It's hard. I'm going to Dubai next week so it'll really be four weeks – we say four weeks not to say a month! – that I haven't seen her and it's a long time at that age when she discovers lots of things. We're very lucky that FaceTime exists, but it doesn't replace anything," Monfils told Tennis Majors.
Gael Monfils' last outing came at the Monte-Carlo Masters, where he was ousted by Daniil Medvedev in the Round of 32. So far this season Monfils has won 12 matches and lost 10. He recorded his best finish this campaign at the Qatar Open, where he reached the semifinals before losing to eventual runner-up Jakub Mensik.