At Roland-Garros,

Immense and endless sorrows - because of the war in Ukraine - interspersed with beautiful moments of joy as after the victory of her husband Gaël Monfils, Tuesday night, so goes the Parisian life of the Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, victorious in the first round of Roland of the Australian Storm Hunter-Sanders. Less than twelve hours after the masterclass of the Monf, which she lived live from the Central Court despite the late hour and the crazy scenario in five sets. "I watched the whole game but despite that I still managed to sleep seven hours in a row, which is not so common lately," she smiled, referring to the short nights that follow the arrival of the baby in the team.

"I'm extremely proud of the match he played yesterday, he never gave up even though he was struggling, I felt his pain on screen. We've been training together lately, he's coming back from injury, I've been pregnant, and I can assure you he's training hard, he's spending hours there and wants to be the player he was before. He's not 25 anymore of course but he has experience and I think he still has big games like yesterday to play. I think with a few more games, he's going to step up. At the moment he is recovering and I hope he will be ready for Thursday."


🌪️ Storm Elina Svitolina!

The party could not stop for Madame Monfils, victory in 3 sets against Storm Hunter !#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/aCegNWbjqJ

— Prime Video Sport France (@PVSportFR) May 31, 2023

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If Monfils dragged a little more than his companion in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, with a passage in conf on the strokes of 1:20 am, the guy was already fresh and available in the stands of Simonne-Mathieu to encourage his wife, which did not fail to greet the interested party. "It gave me a lot of motivation, he put a lot of effort into being there, he motivated me to fight, to play every point 100 percent," she said.

Roland Garros is the first tournament the couple has played together since the birth of their daughter. "Skaï is with us in Paris, everything is going very well for now, we are having a good time on and off the court. We have people who are there to take care of her during the day, it's essential so that we can focus 100% on tennis, so that our mind is freed to be able to give everything on the court. So much for the rejoicing part.



War is never far away

But Svitolina has not escaped the questions that sadden, those that bring you directly back to reality with the painful context of the war at home. Asked how one gets used to the no to live with it, Svitolina did not want to dwell on her personal case, far from the Russian missiles and the daily fear of losing one's life. "I talk a lot with my family and friends in Ukraine, it's horrible what's happening but they've gotten used to it, the sirens, running for cover as soon as the sirens sound, the sleepless nights. It's terrible but it's human nature to get used to everything," she said.

Nearly fifteen months after the start of the war, the Ukrainian player admits to oscillating daily between "pain, sadness and anger". Always with the same resolution when she is in tournament: "When I go on court, I think of the fighting spirit shown by all Ukrainians, the fact that they fight for their values and their freedom. And I struggle here on my own front, I can't be sad or distracted otherwise I'll lose. When the war started I was in Monterrey and I almost cried when I arrived on the field, I had a weight in my chest, and that day I told myself that from now on I will go 100% on the court because I have a flag next to my name, I fight for my country. »

  • Tennis
  • Sport
  • Roland-Garros 2023
  • Paris
  • Ile
  • War in Ukraine
  • Gaël Monfils