Elina Svitolina has made several headlines ever since she announced her separation from her husband, Gael Monfils. She has also received a lot of criticism ever since she made the decision public. Things got so bad that Monfils himself had to defend her from the critics. But the situation still hasn’t calmed down, and Svitolina has now admitted that she hasn’t been able to live happily since divorcing Monfils.

“For me, there’s no such thing as, probably, a general happy life because of the things that I have on a daily basis,” she said during the pre-tournament press conference at the WTA Finals. “But the happy moments that I can create with the people around me — it’s things that I can control and live with.”

The Ukrainian also highlighted that the criticism has only made things even more difficult for her, as people don’t hesitate before judging or commenting negatively about her.

“Yeah, as you mention, I’ve had a tough year with different things in my head. Very busy year that we have. Living in the public eye is not an easy task. Everything is just up there for people to judge or to comment on. Also, I would say it’s a difficult thing to have,” she added.

Svitolina initially cited the heavy psychological toll of the war in Ukraine as the reason behind her separation from Monfils. The 32-year-old then gave a follow-up statement, clarifying that her decision involved much more than just the war and that she was no longer truly happy.

Having started dating in 2018, Svitolina and Monfils got married in 2021. They then welcomed the birth of their daughter Skai in October of 2022. The two were regarded as one of the power couples in tennis and were very close with each other. That is why many were shocked when the news of their separation broke.

This whole saga has affected Monfils as well. The Frenchman abruptly announced his retirement following the divorce. He later admitted that getting separated from Svitolina affected him deeply, and it even resulted in him not being able to follow his daily routines.

“The breakup with Elina hurt me deeply. We’re human, we have our own problems, and we don’t necessarily control what we want,” he said during a Twitch livestream. “This breakup didn’t leave me unaffected. For people who have been in my situation, going through a breakup isn’t easy, and when it happens, I can’t train the way I want, I’m not at my best psychologically. I’m not going to pretend. I’m eating less. I’m not doing everything as well.”

With his playing days now behind him, Monfils has been named France’s team captain for the Davis Cup. On the other hand, Svitolina returned to the court for the first time since her divorce at the WTA Finals. However, it is safe to say that things didn’t quite go as planned.

Elina Svitolina suffered a crushing defeat against Mirra Andreeva at the WTA Finals

Svitolina had a dismal start to the year-end tournament as Andreeva defeated her 6-4, 6-0 in just 70 minutes. This result only rubbed salt in Svitolina’s wounds as she got outclassed by the 19-year-old on all fronts.

While the first set was pretty evenly matched, Andreeva swept past Svitolina in the second. The latter created six break-point opportunities, but wasn’t able to capitalize on any of them. In comparison, Andreeva converted four of the six break-point opportunities she got and took a 2-1 lead in the H2H record.

The result leaves the Ukrainian in the danger zone, as she will be eliminated from the tournament if she loses her next match. Svitolina will be up against Karolina Muchova next, who suffered a 7-6, 7-5 defeat to Aryna Sabalenka in her first match.

Though Svitolina leads the Czech by 3-1 in the H2H record, she can’t be considered the favorite to win the upcoming clash. Moreover, Muchova reigned supreme in their previous meeting, which came in the semifinals of the Stuttgart Open earlier in April. It won’t be a surprise if she claims her second victory in the matchup.