Ukrainian professional tennis player Elina Svitolina announced in an emotional post that she has ended her marriage to Gaël Monfils.Svitolina announced it in an Instagram post on October 19, 2026, saying it is “the most difficult thing I have ever had to share.” She wrote:“Gaël has loved me through my greatest joys and my darkest moments, and I have loved him with all my heart. Together, we built a beautiful life, and we were given the most precious gift of all, our daughter, Skai. Skai will always come first. Our marriage is ending, but our family is not. We will always be her parents, side by side, at every step of her life.” View this post on Instagram Instagram PostThe news of their separation comes after five years. Elina Svitolina and Gaël Monfils tied the knot on July 16, 2021, in Geneva, Switzerland. They have one child together who was born on October 15, 2022.Continue reading for more details.Exploring the relationship between Elina Svitolina and Gaël MonfilsElina Svitolina and Gaël Monfils recently drew attention towards their relationship after they announced their separation in an Instagram post.In the post, the 32-year-old tennis player opened up about the mental toll of the war in Ukraine, sharing that she had “sleepless nights, the doubts, and the feeling of slowly losing myself.” She wrote:“Everyone knows how much Ukraine means to me. What I have rarely spoken about is what the war has done to me inside. With time, I came to understand that I need to find my way back to myself and that I cannot do that within our marriage.”Elina Svitolina and Monfils first met briefly in 2017 in New York on a practice court in Central Park, introduced by a mutual friend, though they only exchanged a quick hello. After Svitolina won the WTA Finals in Singapore in late October 2018, she traveled to Paris to celebrate with friends and posted about it on Instagram.Monfils saw her post, realized he was also in Paris, and sent her a message inviting her to join him and his friends for drinks. They had their first date in the city that night, after which they stayed together. While speaking in a 2019 interview with JetSetterua, Elina Svitolina said:“I had known Gaël for quite some time, as we constantly participated in the same tournaments. But there was very little communication: he knew that I was in a long relationship. At the end of 2018, after winning the final tournament [in Singapore], I went to celebrate with my Paris friends. I posted a photo on Instagram, and Gael wrote to me. We met and could no longer part.”Elina Svitolina of Ukraine competes against Sonay Kartal of the United Kingdom on day five of Wuhan Open at Optics Valley International Tennis Center on October 16, 2026 in Wuhan, China. - Source: GettyMonfils and Svitolina announced their engagement on April 3, 2021. They announced the news in an Instagram post where Svitolina flaunted her three-stone emerald-cut engagement ring. Their engagement was followed by their wedding in 2021, where the pair both wore custom Off-White looks by the late Abloh and his team.The couple often traveled with their daughter on the tour and supported each other through their careers, injuries, and parenthood. After their daughter was born in 2022, Monfils praised his wife for returning to her tennis career. Monfils has said that Svitolina is “a great mother first,” with tennis secondary to family. Svitolina has said that Monfils' understanding as a fellow pro made a big difference.In their separation post, the couple announced that they will continue to co-parent their daughter.