Elina Svitolina credits her husband Gael Monfils for motivating her comeback to tennis after her pregnancy break. The duo inspired each other’s respective returns to action, with Monfils playing for the first time in 2023 at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, ending a six-month injury lay-off since last year’s Canadian Open. Svitolina, on the other hand, made her comeback at the Charleston Open, her first match since last year’s Miami Open.
Together in Preparation and Return
Svitolina suffered a tight three-setter loss to Yulia Putintseva in her opener in Charleston, leading her to accept a wildcard to the W60 ITF event in Chiasso, Switzerland. The former World No. 3 spoke about how she and Monfils prepared together over the winter to get themselves ready for the tennis tour once again. She praised her partner, with whom she welcomed a baby girl named Skai in October 2022, and emphasized the importance of having someone who understands your goals.
Goals and Priorities in Tennis
The 28-year-old is looking forward to playing at the Italian Open in Rome, where she is a former two-time winner, as well as at the French Open. However, Svitolina doesn’t have specific ranking goals; instead, she focuses on the level of tennis she can display day in and day out during her comeback. She believes that her ranking will be a result of the level of tennis she can express.
Embracing the Joy and Challenge of Returning to the Court
Svitolina described the feeling of returning to the court in Charleston as “fantastic” and admitted she had missed it. But the Ukrainian is taking it one tournament at a time, not thinking too far ahead. In Chiasso, Svitolina beat Elena-Gabriela Ruse in her opener and faced Alexandra Cadantu-Ignatik in the second round. She has been back in training since January with the goal of returning as soon as possible, working on clay for two months, knowing that most likely her first matches would coincide with this time of the season.
