"She got very sick before we left": Elina Svitolina opens up on challenges of travelling with daughter Skai to tournaments including Australian Open
WTA
After returning to professional tennis as a mom, Elina Svitolina has given fans a look at what goes on behind-the-scenes as she navigates the difficulties of raising her child while competing on the WTA circuit.
The Ukrainian star gave birth to her first child, daughter Skai, at the end of 2022 after getting married to French ATP star Gael Monfils. Svitolina's comeback has been a successful one, defeating World No.1 Iga Swiatek at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships and winning her first title as a mother in Strasbourg last year.
Svitolina embraces new priorities as a mom on tour
The former World No.3 is currently competing at the 2024 Australian Open, where she defeated Taylah Preston in dominant 6-2 6-2 opening round encounter. Following her victory, Svitolina revealed she had to postpone her flight to Australia by a few days, as her daughter had taken ill prior to their departure.
"Skai is here with us. It was a long trip all the way from Europe, first New Zealand and now here," said Svitolina. "I'm happy that I brought her with me. I had some trips without her, like, to Wimbledon, for example. To US Open, as well, she didn't come. But now since she's already one year and four months, you know, it's a little bit easier, as well, with the long flights.
"Even though it was not easy for us because she got very sick the day before we left, so we had to push back the flight. And, you know, these kind of things you do now these days putting the priority of your child, it is the life like this right now."
Nonetheless, the Odesa native is delighted to have her daughter with her on tour, adding she feels less mentally drained when accompanied by Skai.
"But I'm so happy that we decided to bring her here with us," she added. "We spend so much of nice time and really enjoy time together, the weather is super nice. In Europe a little bit cold, snowing (smiling). So it's nice for her to be here, spend a lot of time in the park with my mom, with the nanny, as well. So it is nice to have her, because when you are leaving for very long time, it's difficult I think mentally. There is plus and minus, you know, in this situation, but I feel like we made the right choice on this time."
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.
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