Gael Monfils has broken his silence on his separation from Elina Svitolina, defending his wife against a wave of criticism that intensified after reports linked their breakup to his abrupt retirement from professional tennis.<\/p>\n
The French tennis star addressed the end of their five-year marriage Friday in an emotional Instagram statement, expressing gratitude for Svitolina’s support while asking fans to respect her decision.<\/p>\n
“Many decided that her explanation wasn’t perfect enough, and Elina has now faced a kind of criticism that I have found unkind at best, and venomous at worst,” Monfils wrote.<\/p>\n
The 40-year-old’s response came four days after Svitolina publicly announced their separation, citing the emotional toll of Russia’s war in Ukraine and other deeply personal struggles.<\/p>\n
However, the reaction grew more hostile as details emerged about how the separation affected Monfils’ retirement.<\/p>\n
Gael Monfils Reportedly Retired After Divorce Phone Call<\/p>\n
According to French sports newspaper L’\u00c9quipe<\/a>, Svitolina informed Monfils during a phone call in late September that she wanted to end their marriage.<\/p>\n Monfils was reportedly in Dubai with their daughter, Skai, while Svitolina was competing in Beijing.<\/p>\n The conversation reportedly devastated Monfils, who subsequently withdrew from his remaining tournaments.<\/p>\n He had originally planned to conclude his career at the Paris Masters in November, giving French fans one final opportunity to celebrate his 22-year professional career.<\/p>\n Instead, Monfils notified the International Tennis Integrity Agency of his retirement, effective Oct. 5.<\/p>\n His second-round loss to Learner Tien at the U.S. Open became his final professional singles match.<\/p>\n The former world No. 6 finished with 13 ATP titles and two Grand Slam semifinal appearances.<\/p>\n While Svitolina acknowledged that their separation contributed to his early retirement, Monfils did not directly address the circumstances of that decision in Friday’s statement.<\/p>\n Elina Svitolina Faces Backlash Over Monfils’ Retirement<\/p>\n The revelations prompted widespread criticism of Svitolina on social media<\/a>.<\/p>\n Some fans accused the Ukrainian star of ruining Monfils’ planned farewell, while others questioned her explanation for ending their marriage.<\/p>\n Several commenters argued that she should have waited until after the Paris Masters to make her decision.<\/p>\n However, those reactions prompted criticism of their own.<\/p>\n Former Australian player and coach Rennae Stubbs defended Svitolina, reminding fans that outsiders cannot know everything happening within a marriage.<\/p>\n Monfils expressed similar frustration.<\/p>\n “While I am deeply grateful that the public feels so invested in my happiness, I have found the lack of grace and kindness shown towards Elina upsetting,” he wrote.<\/p>\n He also reminded supporters that relationships involve private circumstances that cannot be explained through social media.<\/p>\n Monfils Sends Emotional Message About Svitolina and Their Daughter<\/p>\n Despite their separation, Monfils emphasized that his respect and affection for Svitolina remain unchanged.<\/p>\n He credited her with encouraging him to continue playing during periods when injuries and self-doubt nearly ended his career.<\/p>\n “Elina and I may no longer be a couple, but we are still a family,” he wrote.<\/p>\n Their daughter, Skai, remains their shared priority.<\/p>\n The couple married in July 2021 and welcomed their daughter in October 2022.<\/p>\n They were among tennis’ most recognizable couples, even reaching the mixed doubles semifinals at the 2026 U.S. Open.<\/p>\n Now, Monfils is asking fans to recognize the difference between their public identities and their private lives.<\/p>\n “Elina has her battles to fight just as I have mine,” he wrote.<\/p>\n For a player celebrated throughout his career for his resilience, the message was unmistakable: His marriage may be ending, but he does not want Svitolina turned into a villain because of it.<\/p>\n This article was originally published on HEAVY<\/a><\/p>\n The post Gael Monfils Breaks Silence on Elina Svitolina Split, Condemns ‘Venomous’ Backlash<\/a> appeared first on HEAVY<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gael Monfils has broken his silence on his separation from Elina Svitolina, defending his wife against a wave…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":655428,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,46,105],"class_list":["post-655427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=655427"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655427\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/655428"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=655427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=655427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=655427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}