Monfils Defends Svitolina Against 'Venomous' Backlash After Separation

TL;DR: Four days after Elina Svitolina announced the end of their five-year marriage, Gael Monfils broke his silence in an emotional Instagram post on Friday, condemning the backlash against her as “unkind at best, and venomous at worst.” The criticism intensified after reports linked the split to his abrupt retirement. Monfils, 40, asked fans for grace: “Elina and I may no longer be a couple, but we are still a family.”

He had said nothing for four days. When he finally spoke, it was not about himself.

Monfils’ first public statement since Svitolina announced the separation on Monday was a defence of her. Not a joint statement, not a lawyered line, but a long Instagram post that read like a man watching someone he loves get torn apart online.

What did he actually say?

The post opened with gratitude for the public’s investment in his happiness, then turned. “Elina has now faced a kind of criticism that I have found unkind at best, and venomous at worst,” he wrote.

The lines that will travel furthest: “Elina and I may no longer be a couple, but we are still a family. Though my heart hurts, I am forever grateful to her for her support and love over the years.”

And the rebuke to the commentariat: “While some may not understand her reasons, or agree with them, please remember that there is so much more that happens in a relationship behind the curtain that cannot be explained in a post.”

Why did the backlash get so vicious?

Two reasons, and they fed each other. Svitolina’s Monday post cited the mental toll of Russia’s war in Ukraine and said she needed to rediscover herself outside the marriage. That alone drew heat. Then came the second revelation: the split had ended Monfils’ career early.

According to L’Équipe, via Heavy, Svitolina told Monfils by phone in late September that she wanted to end the marriage. He was in Dubai with their four-year-old daughter, Skai; she was competing in Beijing. Heavy reports the conversation devastated him, and he subsequently withdrew from his remaining tournaments. The ITIA listed him as retired effective Oct. 5.

That is what turned sympathy into blame. Some fans accused Svitolina of ruining his planned farewell at the Paris Masters in November, where he had intended to close a 22-year career in front of French fans. Others argued she should have waited until after the tournament. His second-round loss to Learner Tien at the US Open became, without ceremony, his last professional match.

What did Svitolina say in her own defence?

Before Monfils spoke, she was largely alone. Her second statement this week, which SportsMonkie covered when she clarified her reasons, acknowledged that the split had contributed to his early retirement. She wrote that there was no one to blame, only “two people who loved each other deeply and a story that is changing shape.”

She also found an unlikely defender in Rennae Stubbs, the former Australian player and coach, who reminded fans that outsiders cannot know everything happening within a marriage. Monfils said the same thing in his own words: “Elina has her battles to fight, just as I have mine. I respect her choices and reasons.”

What did he say about his career?

Almost nothing, which was the point. He did not relitigate the retirement listing or the cancelled Paris farewell beyond what others had already reported. Instead he credited Svitolina with the part of his career the scoreboards miss: “When I was ready to quit tennis, she gave me the encouragement I needed to continue,” he wrote, adding that she was behind some of his life’s greatest victories, “our daughter, Skaï being the greatest of all.”

It was the first time he had addressed the separation publicly at all. Four days of silence, then a post that made clear where he stands: they will always be family, and the people attacking her have it wrong.

What happens next?

Svitolina has not responded publicly to Monfils’ post. The tennis calendar moves on: Khachanov’s five-match-point escape in Almaty is the week’s on-court story, and Goffin’s farewell in Brussels is the other goodbye. But the Monfils-Svitolina story is not about tennis anymore. It is about whether the internet can let a separation stay a separation, and on Friday, Monfils made his position on that unmistakable.