“My dream is to be old with a lot of kids and healthy. My dream is to have an unbelievable family,” said the family man, Gael Monfils, during the 2025 AO. Monfils first met his wife, Elina Svitolina, during the 2018 WTA Finals in Singapore. After dating for a few years, the couple announced their engagement on April 3, 2021, before tying the knot three months later. On October 15, 2022, Monfils and Svitolina announced the birth of their first child, a daughter named Skai. Calling being Skai’s father a “big blessing,” Monfils once said, “The best duty that I have is to be a good dad to my daughter, try to help her discover life and raise her the best I can.” And, recently, the Frenchman, along with his wife Svitolina, was spotted helping their kid discover their beloved sport.
Previously, when Gael Monfils was asked about his wishes for his daughter, he said, “To be honest, she will do whatever she wants. But deep inside, you know, I hope she picks up something else than the tennis racket: golf, soccer, basketball. But if she wants to play tennis, she plays tennis. But inside, I wish she could try another sport, to be honest. But whatever she wants.”
Even during his interview with Tennis365 at the UTS Grand Final in January, he revealed that although he is encouraging his daughter to try different sports, Skai is already drawn to the racket sport. “To be honest, we want her to try every sport other than tennis, but she likes tennis, unfortunately. She is not spending a lot of time trying tennis, but she likes it,” he said.
Recently, Monfils, Svitolina, and their little kid were spotted spending some time on the court. The Ukrainian star even shared that moment with her fans on her Instagram stories. In that photo, Monfils can be seen teaching his daughter how to hold a tennis racket. Well, Skai has some pretty great coaches already!
Elina Svitolina shares an adorable photo of Gael Monfils teaching their daughter Skaï how to hold a tennis racquet.
This girl has some pretty great teachers.
(via @ElinaSvitolina) pic.twitter.com/4LIwnflDwQ
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) April 19, 2025
How challenging has it been for Monfils and Svitolina to make a balance between their personal and professional life? Talking about Svitolina previously, Mofils said, “She’s a great mother first. That’s first. People want to put tennis first, but I think she’s a great mother first. This is the most important for me as her husband because of course we are a tennis couple but life is beyond our sport.” He has often spoken about how proud he has been to see Svitolina make a strong comeback on the Tour after giving birth to their child in 2022.
To Gael Monfils, “She’s (Skai) my priority number one. So it changed everything, changed your view, but also yourself, because being a sports athlete, you need to be super selfish, and now you can’t be anymore. She’s the absolute priority.” Elina Svitolina, on the other hand, wants to instill a fearless mentality in Skai. She wants her daughter to be “fearless and fight for what she believes in.”
Talking about fearlessness, well, Svitolina is playing some fearless tennis in Rouen right now!
Elina Svitolina reveals how Gael Monfils motivated her to do well in Rouen
Top seed Elina Svitolina dropped just two games in her recent Rouen SF against Romania’s Elena-Gabriela Ruse. She took 61 minutes to beat Ruse by 6-0,6-2 in that match, and with that, she has now reached her first WTA singles final since the 2024 ASB Classic.
After making it to the final of the Open Capfinances Rouen Métropole, Svitolina opened up about how her husband motivated her to make this incredible run here. She said, “A big motivation for me was when Gael told me at the start of the tournament that he would come to the final if I reached the final. So he’ll probably come to support me tomorrow.“
Even Gael Monfils once revealed how Svitolina motivated him and stopped him from an untimely tennis retirement. “If I hadn’t met Elina, I would’ve retired already… no doubt. I think I would’ve called it quits after COVID. At that time, I was still in the top 10, but it meant nothing to me. Empty stadiums… it was a different energy. I just felt it wasn’t for me anymore,” he said.
Monfils further mentioned, “Elina… she found the right words. She said to me, ‘Look, I’m coming back after giving birth… so you can do it too.’ She gave me motivation. I told her, ‘I need a clear goal,’ and we set one together. She helped me immensely.” Both husband and wife are clearly the pillars of strength for each other.
Svitolina will now face Olga Danilovic of Serbia in the Rouen final. Both these players are yet to face each other on the Tour. Who will have the last laugh in their first encounter?
The post Proud Dad Gael Monfils’ Wholesome Moment With Daughter Skai Captured by Wife Elina Svitolina in Adorable Scenes appeared first on EssentiallySports.