Power couple Monfils, Svitolina raise an early French toast

Gael Monfils and Elina Svitolina are among tennis’ most adored power couples. They can turn Instagram reels into a fun world of their own, join forces in hosting charity events to raise funds for war-ravaged Ukraine and, carrying contrasting form and belief into Roland Garros this year, raise an early French toast together.

Barely 12 hours after Monfils could barely walk after delivering one of the standout Grand Slam matches of the season beating Sebastian Baez 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 1-6, 7-5 in Tuesday’s first round that ticked well past midnight (Paris time) on Court Philippe-Chatrier, he was up and supporting his wife on Court Simonne-Mathieu. The 36-year-old Frenchman watched on as Svitolina defeated Storm Hunter 2-6, 6-3, 6-1 in her second round that began at 11 am on Wednesday.

Svitolina, the former world No. 3 competing in her first Major since the 2022 Australian Open after giving birth to a baby girl last October, fought back from a set and a break down in the second set to get past the Australian. The Ukranian didn’t have to look too far away or too far long for inspiration.

Her husband, in an even greater and grander rescue act in his rollercoaster the previous night, was 0-4, 30-40 in the deficit in the fifth set before activating a fighting mind and holding off a cramping body to level things up at 4-4 and break Baez’s serve twice again. A backhand pass that sealed the epic for Monfils got the rapturous home fans up on their feet and his wife “screaming” in her hotel room.

“So if someone heard me, it’s me cheering for Gael,” said Svitolina in her on-court chat on Wednesday before glancing towards her box and adding, “I don’t know actually what he’s doing here now. I think he should be resting.”

As he rested on the dirt, arms spread out wide, three hours and 47 minutes into Tuesday’s night session, Monfils, ever the entertainer on and off the tennis court, teared up. “When it was 0-3 (in the fifth set), I was thinking I’ve never won a match since I became a dad. My daughter is here in Paris, and I needed to win,” Monfils, setting up a mouth-watering second round with world No. 6 Holger Rune on Thursday, said.

The former world No. 6 hadn’t won a completed match since August 2022, when he shut off his season due to plantar fascia rupture on his foot. The injury-prone Monfils did not return until March this year and, in retiring from his first round in Miami the same month, doubted how long he could carry on the same way.

“At a certain age,” Monfils, down to 394 in the rankings now, said after his win, “it’s a bit tough when you start again, when you’re back on the courts.”

His wife was back on court competing five months after giving birth to their daughter, Skaï. Returning to the WTA Tour in April after almost a year—she had also taken a break in March last year citing physical and mental exhaustion amid the war in Ukraine—Svitolina did not take too long to get back to the groove. The 28-year-old two-time Grand Slam semi-finalist reached the WTA 125 Saint Malo last four earlier this month and lifted the WTA 250 Strasbourg title a week before the French Open.

“I feel like I’m as strong as I was before, maybe even stronger,” Svitolina said. “Because I feel that I can handle the work that I do off the court… I tried to find the balance, and I feel like I’m seeing (things) a little bit again differently after the break.”

Steering through dissimilar paths after the parenthood break, Monfils and Svitolina continue to drive each other together.

“Of course, there’s a lot of tough moments, for Gael, for me,” Svitolina said. “But as a family we really understand each other, support each other. We try to go through these tough moments to have moments like I have today, and like Gael had yesterday.”