Gael Monfils and Elina Svitolina Relationship: All About the Tennis Star’s Marriage

Gael Monfils and Elina Svitolina — professional tennis players And husband and wife — have intertwined their personal and professional worlds for years.

Before competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics, the athletic couple met in the city of love six years earlier. France’s Monfils and Ukraine’s Svitolina had crossed paths at global tournaments for years, but finally met when Svitolina reached out to him. After a brief engagement, they married on July 16, 2021.

The following year, Monfils and Svitolina welcomed their daughter, Skaï, and the new mother returned to tennis shortly after. Monfils was amazed at his wife’s strength after their family expanded.

“I was surprised to see how great she came back, how strong she is mentally and physically. It’s amazing,” he said at a 2024 press conference. They continue to support each other on and off the court, including at the 2024 US Open.

From a special wedding appearance by the late fashion designer Virgil Abloh to competing at the Paris Olympics, here’s everything you need to know about Gael Monfils and Elina Svitolina’s relationship.

They met in Paris

Although the two had seen each other for years as professional tennis players, they finally met when Monfils contacted Svitolina, inviting her to join him and his friends for drinks after she won the 2018 WTA Finals in Singapore.

“I have known Gael for quite some time, because we always play the same tournaments. But we have very little communication: he knows that I have a long relationship,” Svitolina said in 2019. “At the end of 2018, after winning the final tournament [in Singapore]I went to celebrate with my friends in Paris. I posted a photo on Instagram, and Gael wrote to me. We met and couldn’t be apart anymore.”

Monfils and Svitolina strike up a romantic relationship in the mountains

After several years of dating, Monfils and Svitolina announced their engagement on Instagram on April 3, 2021.

In the post, the couple posed showing off Svitolina’s engagement ring, which features three emeralds, against a romantic backdrop of snow-capped mountains.

They got married in July 2021

On July 16, 2021, Monfils and Svitolina officially married.

For the ceremony, the couple wore Off-White designed by the late Virgil Abloh and his team. Svitolina’s “DREAM DRESS” was unconventional — a white pantsuit with a sheer purple skirt that draped at the waist.

Monfils and Svitolina have a daughter

On October 15, 2022, Monfils and Svitolina announced the birth of their first child, a daughter named Skaï.

“I had the most amazing night of my life, which ended with the most beautiful gift at around 6:00 am. Elina is strong and brave💪🏾🙏🏾I can’t thank my wife and God enough, for this special moment 🙏🏾Welcome to the world, my little princess SKAÏ ❤️,” Monfils wrote on Instagram.

The couple sometimes share photos of their daughter, but hide her face.

Monfils says Svitolina’s mental and physical strength is “extraordinary”

After Skaï’s birth, Monfils credited his wife for his return to tennis. In a press conference in 2024, the French athlete said, “She is a great mother. That’s the main thing. People want to put tennis first, but I think she is a great mother. That’s the most important thing for me as her husband because of course we are a tennis couple, but life is not just about our sport.”

He continued, “She is an amazing, great mother and as you said, she is able to do well on the field. I was surprised at how well he bounced back, how strong he was mentally and physically. It’s amazing.”

Given that Svitolina is Ukrainian, her husband also praised her resilience amid Russia’s invasion of her home country: “I can’t tell you much because I’m amazed myself and of course with the situation in Ukraine… It’s amazing and she’s a tough woman.”

They have a joint Instagram account

Although Monfils and Svitolina have personal social media accounts, they also share a joint page called GEMS Life.

There, the couple shares updates on their lives, personal photos (including photos with their dog) and even glimpses into their parenting. With over 100,000 followers, the site has become a destination for fans of professional tennis.

Monfils and Svitolina will both compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics

Monfils and Svitolina are both competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics, bringing things back to where it all began for the pair.

Representing her home country, Svitolina wrote on Facebook, “140 athletes during the war represented our country at the Olympics in Paris. In the history of global sports, we have never seen such an example, but once again it proves that Ukrainians are a brave and resilient nation.”

After losing to Italian Lorenzo Musetti, Monfils wrote: “Thank you Paris for your incredible support last night for Roland Garros 🙏🏾. Playing in the night session is always an amazing experience (although not always easy haha ​​😂).”

However, amid the pressure of the competition, the couple managed to remain cheerful, and shared a video on Instagram showing Svitolina trying to speak French.