“She always thinks that every parent plays professional tennis": Elina Svitolina shares adorable story about daughter Skaï

Elina Svitolina secured a huge quarter-final victory over world No. 2 Elena Rybakina and returned to the Rome Open semi-finals for the first time since winning the title in 2018. At 31 years old, Svitolina continues to be one of the leading figures on the Tour, and she is putting together another remarkable week — this time at one of the tournaments where she has enjoyed the greatest success of her career.

“Maybe it's about the food and the city itself. I love Rome. I love to play here and just to spend time here,” she said to Tennis Channel after her victory. “I try to spend as much time as I can in this particular city and just enjoy everything about it.”

The former WTA Finals champion has managed to evolve her tennis after the pause in her career a few years ago, when she was pregnant and gave birth to her first daughter, Skaï — alongside her husband, French former world No. 6 Gaël Monfils.

Svitolina herself has recognised multiple times that motherhood has given her a new maturity and motivation to face the challenges of the Tour. “Skaï always thinks that every parent plays professional tennis. She always thinks that I'm constantly playing. When I leave, I tell her I'm going to play tennis, and she tells me, ‘Good luck, mommy. Beat that girl!’ It's all fun. Just amazing moments that we share together.”

The victory over Rybakina was her 48th against a top-10 opponent and her 12th against a player ranked inside the top-2 of the WTA Rankings. The Ukrainian climbed to No. 8 in the live rankings — while also positioning herself at No. 5 in the WTA Race, meaning the standings that only count points earned during the 2026 calendar year.

The former world No. 3 is arguably the player with the most experience inside the top-10 — considering that by 2015 she was already inside the top-15 at just 20 years old — and now, at 31, she remains one of the biggest names on the Tour. “I'm not training as much as I used to when I was young,” Svitolina said. “I've learned a lot over the years about really listening to my body and sometimes taking some time off and relaxing. I think learning to relax and learning to rest is actually more difficult than working hard.”

Awaiting her in the semi-finals is Iga Swiatek, the three-time Rome Open champion, in a clash between two of the players with the most victories in the Italian capital. The six-time Grand Slam champion leads the head-to-head 4-2 (2-0 on clay courts), although their latest clash went in favour of Svitolina a couple of months ago in Indian Wells (6-2, 4-6, 6-4 for Svitolina).

One of the topics touched on by the Ukrainian was the upcoming retirement of her husband Gaël Monfils — who, at 39 years old, is living the final chapter of his professional career. The Frenchman was confirmed with a wildcard for Roland Garros — although he still has not fully confirmed which tournament will officially be his last.

“We've been together for eight years and throughout all these years we've both been actively playing at different stages, sometimes recovering from injuries. Both of us have struggled and tried to support each other,” she said about Monfils. “Then I had the break when I was pregnant with Skaï."

"It was really special to spend that time at home and not do anything related to tennis. It was just normal life. It's nice to have those moments together and really enjoy this journey. I think it's one to remember.”

While they have spent years travelling separately, things will change for the Svitolina family once Monfils retires, as he prepares to take his next steps away from tennis and into a completely different field than the one they are used to: finance.

“He's ready for it and he can't wait for the journey. He already knows what he's going to do. He's going to work in finance. He's looking forward to it and telling me all about it,” Svitolina said about her husband. “He's the kind of person who thinks a few steps ahead. I'm the same, so I think we're quite safe in that regard.”