"Gaël Monfils is on full daddy duty right now" - Elina Svitolina campaign continues at Indian Wells as her husband and daughter support from afar

It is another semi-final in 2026 for the inform and dangerous Elina Svitolina. She was able to take down the six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 in a triumphant result at Indian Wells. She is now in a 14th WTA 1000 semi-final with a fifth title firmly in sight.

After taking the first set in dominant fashion, Swiatek fought back. She nabbed a late break of serve to send the tie to a third and deciding set. Unfortunately for the Pole, her recent poor form continues as Svitolina won the final three games to cement her spot in another semi-final in 2026, charging towards more glory.

"It was definitely a tough battle today," she stated after the match. "We were battling together and also against the heat and the sun — it was just insane. So yeah, it was a tough battle today, but I’m very happy with the way I could stay composed and start the match well, because she brings a lot of intensity and you have to really try to find your game early in the match."

She was very relieved and happy to get over the line in a tricky contest. "I was happy that I could do that. Of course she came back in the second set and then it was a pure fight. In the third set, I’m very happy that I could stay composed and close it out on my serve."

Svitolina's serving against the Pole was quite remarkable, getting in 81% of her first serves while in turn winning 82% of them. It was a key stat that led her to victory against Swiatek who was unable to find an answer for this on court.

The Ukrainian explained how she adjusted it slightly for better results. "I tried to put a bit more on it. I think it’s difficult here to play only with the second serve because the courts are grippy and you have to adjust your serve a little bit. Iga is also going for it on the second serve, so I really tried to focus on my service games and it worked well. I’m very happy that I could bounce back after that second set."

One of the reasons why Svitolina has been at the forefront of women's tennis for so long is her ability to adapt her game to what is best suited for the time or tournament. In 2026, she has come out of the blocks in rapid fashion with a large number of deep runs in competitions. This is partly down to her aggressive style of play, trading blows with the best while clinically being able to dispose of them.

"I mean the champions are not waiting for people to give them wins — they’re going for it," she said. "I think this mentality really helped me to win matches like today. Trying to stay aggressive — sometimes, of course, you just have to put your head down and fight. But my mentality most of the time is to go for my shots."

It is something she has been working on for a while, and now the work has been translated onto the courts. "I think I’ve been doing that quite well for the past few years, and that’s brought me some success. I’m very happy that it’s working, and I try to go for it even more and try to achieve even more."

We are not even halfway through March yet and Svitolina is in a fourth WTA semi-final, following campaigns from the ASB Classic, Australian Open and Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

As she looks towards a second last-four clash in California, her preparation is key in all parts of her game. She was complimented on her physical and movement aspects when on court. "Well, the season is quite long and I’ve been playing a lot of matches and tournaments, so you have to find those couple of days where you go to the gym and do a lot of explosive work," she said.

This has worked out really well. "For me, that’s what’s been working the best. When you get to the later stages of tournaments, you want to build and maintain that explosiveness. I think experience also plays a role in those moments."

The progress is good, but there is still room to improve. "I’m very happy with the way I’ve been working with my team on a few things during the tournament, and I think that’s been working well. Of course, there are still things I want to improve, and we’re always trying to find those small edges to make it even better. It’s all a work in progress."

If it is not broken, do not fix it. The 31-year-old has hinted that she will not be changing anything before the semi-final showdown against Elena Rybakina. "No, I just try to treat it as another match," she stated. "Of course, in the back of your mind you feel like it’s another opportunity — maybe to get to the final, maybe to win the title. But I think it’s important to keep the same routine, the same work on the practice court, and focus on the tactical things you want to execute in the next match."

Being in this sport for some time, she is fully aware of what it will take and will use any advantage she can take beforehand. "We’ve been playing back to back, so there isn’t too much time to work on things. But during the warm-up we try to adjust a little bit. We’re not new to tennis, so we try to find the small opportunities and use them."

Svitolina is married to fellow tennis player Gael Monfils. The Frenchman also traversed to California to compete but was dumped out of the tournament against Felix Aiger-Aliassime. That will be his final stop at this tournament with him retiring at the end of 2026 after an ilustrious career.

After his defeat, he went straight back home instead of supporting his wife as the tournament continued, but still keeping in contact. "They called me this morning. I was having breakfast and they were having dinner — or maybe the other way around, I don’t remember.

Together, they have a three year old daughter called Skai, who was having some quality time with her exhausted father as Svitolina recalled. "Gaël Monfils is on full daddy duty right now — playing golf with our daughter, going for bike rides as well. Then he told me, 'Phew, it was a tough day today for me.' He was very happy that she had a nap for two hours. So yeah, tough duties for daddy back home — golfing and taking care of the baby."