Ex-WTA Player Reveals Brutal Realities of Dating in Tennis After Gael Monfils Ends Career Early Due to His Split From Elina Svitolina

Elina Svitolina, while heading to China to compete, reportedly told Gael Monfils that she wanted to end their marriage, leaving him completely devastated. He was so heartbroken that he decided to end his career earlier than planned.

The Frenchman had planned to call time on his career at the Paris Masters, set to start on November 2. He was also scheduled to play the Lyon Open this week but withdrew due to “personal reasons.”

Recently, it came to light that the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) added Monfils to its retired list on October 5. This was surprising, given that players are not eligible to compete in official events when they become part of this list.

When the tennis world was busy discussing the reason behind Monfils’ decision not to play in Paris, Svitolina took to social media on Monday (October 19) to announce her decision to divorce him. She cited the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war as the reason.

But as many struggled to understand how the toll of the war could lead to separation, she clarified in another post that there were more reasons behind the split. The reason the tennis world is struggling to accept this news is that Monfils and Svitolina always showered each other with glowing praise, love, and admiration, both on and off the courts.

Svitolina also penned a heartfelt column on The Players’ Tribune for their daughter Skai, titled “Your Dad, the Magician” in May this year. They also teamed up for mixed doubles at this year’s US Open and reached the semifinals.

Amidst all this, former WTA World No.9 Andrea Petkovic shared harsh realities of love in the world of tennis. On The Big T Podcast, Petkovic said she wouldn’t have discussed the Monfils-Svitolina split had it not become major news.

I just wanted to talk a little about how difficult it is to have a relationship as a tennis player. Sometimes you would meet somebody, you would start dating, then you are gone, for like, eight weeks. When you are 22, 23, 24, a whole life happens in eight weeks. You know, you come back, you don’t recognize each other anymore.

Brad Gilbert, the former coach of Coco Gauff, Andy Roddick, and Andre Agassi, was also a part of the podcast. He also addressed the news of the split, calling the whole thing “sad”.

Well, obviously sad. Sad for anybody, any young couple that have something like this happen. Obviously they have a daughter. Gael was probably so distraught. His last two tournaments were both in France, in Lyon and Paris, and he said, ‘That’s it, I’m pulling myself out of the drug protocol, and I’m retiring.’ Hopefully he can, on their own private terms, work this thing out.

Monfils played the final match of his career against Learner Tien in the second round of this US Open.

Andrea Petkovic and Brad Gilbert discuss the challenges of love in tennis ❤️‍🩹 Listen or watch now https://t.co/nmwgp2WLss 🎙️ https://t.co/1EEjOhCb6g

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) October 21, 2026

Elina Svitolina withdraws from the Pan Pacific Open after announcing her split with Gael Monfils

Elina Svitolina was scheduled to play the Ningbo Open, which kicked off on October 19. But a few days before that, she decided to withdraw from it.

After announcing her split from Gael Monfils, the Ukrainian ace has now pulled out of the Pan Pacific Open, set to start on October 26.

So far this season, Svitolina has played three finals, winning the ASB Classic and the Italian Open by beating Wang Xinyu and Coco Gauff, respectively. She lost the Dubai Tennis Championships to Jessica Pegula.

In Majors this year, she reached one semifinal at the Australian Open (also the first time since 2023 Wimbledon she made the last four of a Major). Her run at the French Open ended in the quarterfinals, while at Wimbledon and the US Open, she lost in the first and third rounds, respectively.

Also read: Novak Djokovic Told His Biggest Problem This Year Is Mental and Not Physical: “He’s Nervous in the First Round”