{"id":1955618,"date":"2026-05-26T11:00:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T08:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1955618"},"modified":"2026-05-26T11:00:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T08:00:12","slug":"gael-monfils-french-open-goodbye-atp-stars-emotional-message-to-real-woman-my-wife-elina-svitolina","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1955618","title":{"rendered":"Gael Monfils French Open goodbye: ATP star&#8217;s emotional message to &#8216;real woman, my wife&#8217; Elina Svitolina"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"ps-article-content rounded-lg lg:mt-5 lg:border lg:border-card lg:bg-card lg:shadow-primary\">\n<header>\n<h1 class=\"py-4 text-xl font-normal text-title sm:text-2xl\">Gael Monfils French Open goodbye: ATP star\u2019s emotional message to \u2018real woman, my wife\u2019 Elina Svitolina<\/h1>\n<div class=\"my-2 flex items-center justify-between\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/author\/shahidaj\" class=\"text-sm font-normal !text-author\"><br \/>\n                            Shahida Jacobs                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <time class=\"ml-3 text-sm font-normal text-info md:ml-4\" datetime=\"26 May 2026 12:00 PM\" data-ps-date=\"26 May 2026 12:00 PM\" data-ps-datetime=\"1779793212\"><br \/>\n                            26 May 2026 12:00 PM                        <\/time>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"hidden justify-end space-x-4 text-xl sm:flex sm:!opacity-100\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_dark.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on 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href=\"https:\/\/share.flipboard.com\/bookmarklet\/popout?v=2&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tennis365.com%2Ffrench-open%2Fgael-monfils-roland-garros-farewell-emotional-message-real-woman-wife-elina-svitolina\" aria-label=\"Share to flipboard\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"sm:hidden flex items-center space-x-5\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_dark.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 dark:hidden h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_light.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <button id=\"t365-article-share-btn-hidden\" class=\"mr-2 hidden h-6 w-6 appearance-none border-none !text-share-icon outline-none hover:!text-share-icon-active sm:hidden\" data-title=\"Gael Monfils French Open goodbye: ATP star\u2019s emotional message to \u2018real woman, my wife\u2019 Elina Svitolina\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/button>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5 border-b border-page\"><\/div>\n<section>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5\">\n<figure class=\"aspect-h-9 aspect-w-16 relative\">\n                                        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1320\" height=\"742\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"w-full h-full object-cover object-center !my-0\" src=\"https:\/\/d2me2qg8dfiw8u.cloudfront.net\/content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Gael-Monfils-with-inset-of-wife-Elina-Svitolina-1320x742.jpg\" alt=\"Pictured: Gael Monfils with inset of wife Elina Svitolina\">                <\/figure><figcaption class=\"flex items-center space-x-3 border-b border-mobile-caption px-3 lg:border-caption\">\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-1.5 break-words !text-xs !text-content\">\n                                Gael Monfils with inset of wife Elina Svitolina                            <\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<div class=\"ciam-article-t365\"><!-- Article Start --><\/p>\n<p>Gael Monfils waved goodbye to fans at Roland Garros Monday as he lost his final match at the clay-court Grand Slam and during his farewell ceremony, he paid an emotional tribute to his wife Elina Svitolina.<\/p>\n<p>Twenty-one years after he made his French Open debut as an 18-year-old, the final curtain came down for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/gael-monfils\">Monfils<\/a> in Paris as he went down 2-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 0-6 in the first round against fellow Frenchman Hugo Gaston in the late match on Court Philippe-Chatrier.<\/p>\n<p>Having announced last year that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/gael-monfils-announces-retirement-date-full-statement\">the 2025 season was going to be his farewell campaign<\/a>, there was always going to be a ceremony for one of tennis\u2019 great entertainers after he played his last match.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a mixed feeling between happiness, sadness, and it\u2019s a lot of feelings, a lot of emotion,\u201d Monfils said. \u201cIt\u2019s very hard to describe. Somehow I don\u2019t want to dig too deep yet, but it\u2019s not easy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The 39-year-old \u2013 who peaked at No 6 in the rankings \u2013 was joined on the court by former players Richard Gasquet, Gilles Simon and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and his compatriots each shared some kind words.<\/p>\n<h2>French Open News<\/h2>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/french-open\/novak-djokovic-injury-concern-french-open\">Novak Djokovic injury concern raised that could threaten his French Open dreams<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-features\/live-atp-rankings-felix-auger-aliassime-new-career-french-open-novak-djokovic-slumps\">Felix Auger-Aliassime hits new milestone in Live ATP Rankings as Novak Djokovic faces big drop<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Speaking in French, Simon said: \u201cMonf, that\u2019s a wrap. It\u2019s the end of the adventure, the end of the road. It\u2019s been an incredible journey for you, for all of us and for everyone who enjoyed watching you play and all the spectators you made so happy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gasquet added: \u201cMate, I\u2019m so proud to have spent my whole career with you, and I\u2019m especially proud to call you a friend and to share so many memories with you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tsonga stated: \u201cYou can be so proud of everything you\u2019ve done. You\u2019ve been outstanding. I think you\u2019ve inspired lots of young people to take up tennis. You have inspired so many people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But one of the biggest cheers of the night came when Monfils paid tribute to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-features\/elina-svitolina-gael-monfils-marriage-daughter-skai-resurgence\">Svitolina<\/a>, whom he started dating in 2019 before getting married in 2021.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNormally you speak French, Elina, so I\u2019m going to thank Elina [in French]. I\u2019d like to thank my wife because without her, I might not be here tonight,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve been together for eight years, eight wonderful years. You\u2019ve been there for me, but I\u2019m not talking about Elina Svitolina the tennis player, but Elina the woman, the real woman, my wife who is there for me through thick and thin, who has always known how to support me as a man \u2013 not as a tennis player \u2013 who has always been there for me when I doubted myself and who has always known how to lift me up, how to encourage me, how to help me, and above all, who gave me the most beautiful gift in the world with our daughter [Skai]. I love you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- Article End --><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gael Monfils French Open goodbye: ATP star\u2019s emotional message to \u2018real woman, my wife\u2019 Elina Svitolina Shahida Jacobs 26 May 2026 12:00 PM Gael Monfils with inset of wife Elina Svitolina Gael Monfils waved goodbye to fans at Roland Garros Monday as he lost his final match at the clay-court Grand Slam and during his [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,249],"class_list":["post-1955618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-tennis365-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1955618","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1955618"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1955618\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1955618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1955618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1955618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}