Tennis showman Gael Monfils is playing his final season before entering retirement. The former world No. 6 announced the news well in advance last October, and received an outpouring of well-wishes and support from fans and colleagues. While Monfils will hang up his racket later this year, his wife, WTA No. 9 Elina Svitolina, is still going strong on the tour, reaching the semi-finals in Indian Wells this week.

The Ukrainian tennis star married Monfils in 2021, and they welcomed their daughter, Skai, a year later. And Svitolina has now opened up on how “difficult” it was to learn that her husband wanted to retire from professional tennis as she looked ahead to the rest of his farewell season.

“Well, I think for me, [it] was the most difficult when he really told me, it was I think September last year, when he told me that he’s thinking about it and that probably is going to happen. That’s where, yeah, was tough, as well, for me, because, you know, I have been watching him a little also when he was playing great matches starting his career and then also following him before we were together,” Svitolina said after her Indian Wells run came to an end in the last four.

“And then, you know, being next to him and seeing what he’s going through of course is very special. For me, it’s also, yeah, emotional to see, you know, the way that he’s, you know, handling this.

“Of course sometimes it can be tough for him and emotional, and I try to be there every step of the way and try to support him. I mean, I don’t think there is any other thing that I could do really, just to be there and talk sometimes, sometimes just to be in silence to let him, you know, enjoy, in a way, this last year.”

Monfils has already said goodbye to some important tournaments, including the ASB Classic in Auckland, where he lifted the trophy in 2025, the Australian Open, and Indian Wells. And Svitolina knows things will become even more emotional when Monfils plays his final French Open, his home Grand Slam.

The world No. 9 added: “ I think, you know, Europe, Roland Garros time will be really emotional for him. So it’s gonna be a lot for us, you know, as a family, but also a lot of enjoyment, because it’s, yeah, something special, you know. It’s a chapter that you will never forget.

“Only thing you can do is just live around these emotions. You cannot get rid of all the excitement, all the, you know, different bad emotions and good emotions. It’s just mixture of it. So we just try to enjoy this moment as much as we can.”

Monfils might be slowing down, but Svitolina is playing her best tennis since she took a break to give birth to their daughter in 2022. The Ukrainian ace recently returned to the top-10 for the first time since her return from pregnancy.

So far this year, Svitolina has won the title in Auckland, finished runner-up in Dubai, and reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open and Indian Wells. She lost in the round-of-16 in Doha last month.

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