Elina Svitolina’s reaction says it all during Gael – Sports News
Elina Svitoina was visibly emotional at Gael Monfils’ retirement speech (Image: Getty)
Emotional scenes unfolded on the French Open as Gael Monfils delivered his retirement speech, with Elina Svitolina’s reaction capturing the depth of the second.
Monfils introduced on Instagram final October that he plans to retire on the finish of the 2026 tennis season. The French veteran’s emotional farewell on the French Open got here after a dramatic five-set defeat to fellow Frenchman Hugo Gaston in his opening match.
On Court Philippe-Chatrier, Monfils’ post-match speech carried further weight as he mirrored on his profession and delivered a second that visibly moved Svitolina. It comes after French Open analysts had been pressured to take drastic measures to cool down amid the heatwave.
He stated: “I’d like to thank my wife. Without her, I might not be here tonight. We’ve been together for eight beautiful years. You have supported me, raised me up, and loved me. You gave me the greatest gift… our daughter. I love you.”
Svitolina, who not too long ago captured the Italian Open title to finish an eight-year trophy drought, was seen smiling by tears as she regarded on during the emotional second.
Monfils was additionally honored with a heartfelt tribute after taking part in his remaining match at Roland Garros, as a particular video montage featured messages from some of tennis’ greatest names. The tribute included appearances from Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Stan Wawrinka, alongside fellow French gamers and compatriots.
Monfils gave an emotional speech during his remaining look at Roland Garros (Image: Getty)
After the match, the 39-year-old revealed that his group has requested a wildcard for Wimbledon, although he remained cautious about his participation, saying he would “wait and see” whereas acknowledging that different gamers could deserve the chance more. However, he nonetheless expressed hope of that includes on the match.
The veteran Frenchman made historical past in January 2025 by changing into the oldest ATP Tour title winner after triumphing in Auckland. Over the course of his profession, Monfils has claimed 13 ATP titles and produced his best Roland-Garros run in 2008, when he reached the semi-finals earlier than shedding to Federer.
Days earlier than the Monfils-Gaston match, Svitolina wrote an emotional letter to their daughter, Skai, capturing her emotions about Monfils’ profession in a heartfelt essay. The letter started: “A few days from now, something very special is going to happen, right here in Paris. You’re only three years old, so a little too young still to know about it 🙂
“But I am writing you this letter, with the hope that one day you will read your mom’s thoughts and then you will understand. You will understand why your dad means so much to so many people around the world. You will understand why his career has been such an amazing one… and why his final Roland Garros is such a beautiful moment.”
The Ukrainian star described Monfils as “the best magician,” praising his “creativity, speed, intelligence, coordination… and let’s be honest, his cute smile :).”
Monfils revealed that his spouse didn’t share the letter with him till after the “Gael and Friends.”
He famous: “The truth is that that day, she read it to me late at night when I came back from the event. We were both very emotional in a way. I didn’t know. I was very touched… Very touched. It was funny that it was one of the first times I could see her so… to open up a bit on that. For me, it took me very deep.”
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