Oct 19 - World number six Elina Svitolina said on Monday that she and former tennis player Gael Monfils were ending their marriage, with the Ukrainian adding that the emotional toll of Russia's war in her homeland left her needing to rediscover herself.

The couple married in July 2021 and welcomed a daughter, Skai, in October 2022.

Announcing the separation in an Instagram post, Svitolina described the personal struggles she has faced since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the impact they had on her life away from the tennis court.

"This is the most difficult thing I have ever had to share," Svitolina wrote. "Everyone knows how much Ukraine means to me. What I have rarely spoken about is what the war has done to me inside.

"Last year, I told you I needed to step away from the court because I wasn't in the right emotional space. Today, I want to open up a little more. What you didn't see were the sleepless nights, the doubts, and the feeling of slowly losing myself.

"Gael saw all of it. He never let go of my hand. We fought through this together for a long time, with everything we had. But some battles happen deep inside you, and no amount of love from someone else can win them for you."

Svitolina asked for kindness and privacy as the family navigates the separation, stressing there was no one to blame.

"With time, I came to understand that I need to find my way back to myself and that I cannot do that within our marriage," the 32-year-old Australian Open semi-finalist added.

"It is the hardest truth I have ever had to face and the hardest thing I have ever had to tell the person I love.

"Gael listened. He has respected what I need with a strength and grace I will never forget. Gael has loved me through my greatest joys and my darkest moments, and I have loved him with all my heart...

"Skai will always come first. Our marriage is ending, but our family is not. We will always be her parents, side by side, at every step of her life...

"There are only two people who loved each other deeply and a story that is changing shape."

On the court, four-times Grand Slam semi-finalist Svitolina recently secured her place at the season-ending WTA Finals in Indian Wells, California.

Frenchman Monfils, 40, a former world number six and one of the most charismatic players of his generation, has retired from professional tennis, according to the International Tennis Integrity Agency.

He planned to retire at the end of 2026 and bid farewell at November's Paris Masters but the ITIA now lists him as retired. REUTERS