By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Wednesday, April 2, 2025
Photo credit: Elina Svitolina Instagram
Elina Svitolina is more than Gael Monfils' life partner.
Svitolina is her husband's life saver.
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In a new episode of his Talk Show posted to his YouTube channel, Monfils was asked by former Davis Cup teammate Gilles Simon, "Would you still be a professional tennis player if you hadn't met Elina Svitolina?"
Former world No. 6 Monfils confessed he considered quitting the sport during the COVID-19 era as he became depressed playing in front of empty stadiums.
Monfils said his wife saved his career by encouraging him to focus on the many positives in his life and keep playing.
"I don't think so. I think I would have stopped," Monfils said in his YouTube chat with Simon. "She helped me a lot when I came out of Covid because post-Covid, I was still Top 10, but I wasn't interested, empty stadium, and I felt that it wasn't going well.
"I was really starting to tell her that I was thinking about quitting. And I couldn't even get back into shape, I had this frustration."
In October of 2022, Svitolina gave birth to the couple's daughter named Skai Monfils.
During his wife's pregnancy, Monfils said the prospect of being a new dad, struggling to stay healthy amid chronic knee and foot injuries and the disconnect he felt from the sport and his fans during COVID all conspired to cause him to consider calling it quits.
These days, 38-year-old Monfils is crafting career resurgence.
The Frenchman fought off Jaume Munar 7-5 5-7 7-6(1) to become the oldest man to ever reach the round of 16 in Miami last week.
The magical Miami run came a couple of months after Monfils launched his season in Auckland by becoming the oldest man to ever win an ATP title.
None of it would be possible without Svitolina who "saved me," Monfils said by reigniting his flame of passion for the game.
"My wife saved me, she helped me find this little flame," Monfils said. "[Without] really Elina, I wouldn't be a tennis player if I hadn't met her, I went up to 14th in the world, I won Adelaide, I made the quarterfinals at the Australian, and I injured my foot again, and I didn't play for seven months."
The day Monfils confided to his pregnant wife, "it's over" she responded with the right words that changed his mind and his life.
"And then I said to Elina: "It's over." In addition, she is pregnant," Monfils said. "And I had a big personal problem in my family. I'm injured, I welcome my daughter and I know it's over. It sucks that I'm stopping with an injury but it's over.
"And then, Elina, she finds the words...I found a goal where no one gave a damn about me, that of qualifying for the Olympic Games, I was 400th...
"My wife saved me, she helped me find this little flame. She was a big part of the fact that I still play tennis so thank you Elina!"