Yesterday, Gael Monfils and Elina Svitolina announced the end of their five-year marriage, and now the Ukrainian has shared a follow-up post, clearing up some misunderstandings lingering from the initial announcement. Svitolina cited ongoing tension in Ukraine as the main reason for the split. This new message is tailored for her international audience and explains that the conflict is not the sole reason.

“It was never just about one thing,” Svitolina wrote on Instagram, adding that there is “so much more to it.”

In her earlier statement, the world No. 6 spoke about sleepless nights, doubts, and the feeling of slowly losing herself, and linked it to what the situation back in her homeland had done to her emotionally. The post was met with mixed reactions, with some fans wondering how a marriage could end when Monfils had been there for her during her ordeal, and some critics finding the announcement of a separation in such a manner to be strange. Svitolina now says she shared only one of the reasons that shaped her decision. 

“When you’ve been living through the reality of war for more than 4.5 years, experiencing so many different situations, emotions, and difficult moments, you naturally start seeing life differently. Your perspective changes, your values and priorities shift, and you begin to understand what you truly want out of life.”

“At some point, I simply realized that I didn’t want to keep living a life where I wasn’t truly happy. And believe me, coming to this decision was anything but easy.”

Even then, Svitolina did not forget to stress that she still loves and respects Monfils very much and will always appreciate him for who he is. Which is why she said it was important to be honest with him and with herself.

The post also revealed that she didn’t intend to reveal much to the public. Some things, she wrote, are simply too personal to share. Svitolina even cleared up doubts over how Monfils’ career ended abruptly. The Ukrainian wrote that he decided to stop based on their situation.

Earlier this month, Monfils quietly appeared on the ITIA’s list of retired players, and he was removed from the entry list for the ATP 250 event in Lyon, with organizers citing only “personal reasons.” Fans were expecting a proper goodbye on court in Paris, and Monfils had promised they would get it a year ago when he announced 2026 would be his last season. His departure, on the contrary, was abrupt. 

In the days that followed, French newspaper L’Equipe reported that the shock of the separation hit Monfils hard and left him in no condition to compete. Svitolina’s second post suggests the speculation that followed did real damage. 

“Unfortunately he had many accusations thrown at him and he didn’t deserve that,” she wrote, explaining why the couple jointly released a statement. Her message was a clear attempt to shield the man she is parting ways with, and to make sure the blame for how his career ended did not fall on him.

Svitolina ended her message with a plea for understanding, asking fans to be kind because this is “incredibly tough for us both right now.” Beyond that, neither has spoken about plans beyond the one they’ve agreed to from the beginning: Skai will always be the top priority, and the two of them will always be her parents.