Elina Svitolina is a professional tennis player and the wife of French player Gaël Monfils. His bio express.
A daydream. Back on the tennis courts since April after her pregnancy and the birth of her daughter with the French player Gaël Monfils, Elina Svitolina will play in the quarter-finals of Roland-Garros. Serious and diligent since the start of the French Open, the Ukrainian is galvanized and receives the unconditional support of the French public who consider her half French because of her relationship with one of the darlings of the public. “I’m grateful to the crowd for being there, for supporting me. Even though I was trailing in some matches, the crowd was there! They supported me. They give me hope that I can come back. and win” explained the player.
This Tuesday, the now 192nd in the world, will play a place in the last four against the seeded number 2 of this Roland-Garros, the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka. This match will also be played in a particular context due to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Elina Svitolina has refused for several months to shake hands with Russian and Belarusian players. Sabalenka has never taken a clear stance against the war because of her relationship with President Alexander Lukashenko who has been condoning this conflict for over a year.
Biography Elina Svitolina. Elina Svitolina was born on September 12, 1994 in Odessa, Ukraine. As a child, she follows her older brother Yulian who takes tennis lessons. At the age of 5, she began to practice the discipline. She became a professional player in 2010. If her tennis idol is André Agassi, Elina Svitolina also admired Kobe Bryant. The Ukrainian devotes a lot of time and energy to her foundation created in 2019, the Elina Svitolina Foundation.
An aggressive player from the baseline, the native of Odessa has made the backhand her main weapon in attack. His will and his desire to win have often allowed him to win in complicated matches. Even if a Grand Slam is missing from her list, Elina Svitolina is one of the leading players in world tennis in recent years.
Since 2010 and the year Elina Svitolina turned professional, she has won 17 titles including the Masters WTA Finals in Singapore in 2018 but also other major competitions such as the WTA Premier 5 in Rome twice and Toronto or the WTA Premier in Dubai and Brisbane. The last tournament that the Ukrainian won was that of Chicago in August 2021. Three lost finals are added to her record.
Close to the 500th place in the world (498th – NDR) in 2010 when she turned professional, Elina Svitolina currently occupies the 192nd place in the WTA rankings. At her best, the Ukrainian was ranked 3rd on September 11, 2017.
Since 2010 when she turned pro, Elina Svitolina has raised over $20 million ($21,418,949m) in prize money.
On the private side, Elina Svitolina has been married since July 16, 2021 to Frenchman Gaël Monfils. The two tennis players had separated in February 2021 before getting back together.
They share their daily life on social networks via the Instagram account.
Four days after the start of the Russian invasion, Elina Svitolina was among the first personalities to react. Committed to the Monterrey tournament, the Ukrainian had refused to play against a Russian or Belarusian, before turning around and playing in Mexico the first round against Anastasia Potapova. She had declared that she would donate all of her earnings to the Ukrainian army.
On March 29, 2022, she announced that she was taking a break from her career. Physically and psychologically exhausted, the Odessa native said: “The last few months have been extremely difficult for me, not only mentally but also physically. For a long time I have been suffering from my back. The pain does not allow me to prepare the best I can for the tournaments. In the meantime, I observe with unbearable pain what is happening in my country, Ukraine, and how the Ukrainian people are defending our country with bravery and courage. And that gives me the strength to keep fighting on the court. Now my body can’t handle it and I need some rest. But I’m sure I’ll see you again soon. Thank you all for your support in this difficult time.”
More recently, Elina Svitolina opposed on April 20 the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian players from the next edition of Wimbledon (June 27-July 10). According to her, players who have taken a stand against this war should be able to participate: “We don’t want them to be completely banned. We just want them to express themselves, if they are with us and the rest of the world or the Russian government. That for me is the main point.”
