Tennis》Shocked! A Ukrainian sister announced her divorce and parted ways with retired Monfils

Svitolina (from left) and Monfils. (File photo, Reuters)

[Reporter Liang Weiming/Comprehensive Report] Elina Svitolina, the "Ukrainian sister" of the women's tennis team, suddenly announced her divorce and ended her five-year marriage with Gael Monfils, the French retired player who performed the last dance of the season, which surprised everyone.

Svitolina, currently ranked 6th in the WTA world women's singles, married Monfils in July 2021. The two have a 4-year-old daughter. The 32-year-old lost an upset in the top eight in Wuhan last week. Now she posted on Instagram: "I need to find myself, and this cannot be found in our marriage." She also bluntly said that Russia's war of aggression against the Ukrainian motherland has caused great trauma in her heart. She often suffers from insomnia and even has an impact on her married life. "As time goes by, I gradually Understanding that I needed to find myself was something that was not possible in our marriage. This was the hardest truth I had ever faced and the hardest thing to tell anyone I loved. Gael listened to me and respected our needs with a strength and grace that I will never forget. Our marriage was ending, but our family was not going to end."

Svitolina has reached the semi-finals of Grand Slams four times. She and Monfils, the former world No. 6, are a well-known husband and wife team in tennis. They often play as a pair in professional events and cheer each other up. They even teamed up to reach the semi-finals of the US Open Mixed Doubles at the end of August. Monfils, who is retiring at the end of this season, originally received a wild card for this week's ATP 250 men's tennis tournament in Lyon, but the local host Balloon star withdrew from the competition citing "personal factors."