Ukrainian star Elina Svitolina has begun her 2026 season on a high note, as she has clinched the ASB Classic, the WTA 250 tournament, after defeating Wang Xinyu, a former world No. 32. After her win, she was joined on the court by her husband, Gaël Monfils, who shared admirable moments with her and was seen carrying her bags and trophy.
Gaël Monfils Shares Joyful Moments With Elina Svitolina As They Together Lift Her ASB Classic Trophy
Svitolina entered the Auckland hardcourt outdoor tournament as the No. 1 seed and defeated Varvara Gracheva, Katie Boulter, Sonay Kartal, Iva Jović, and Xinyu to reach the title, which was the 19th of her career. She had wrapped up her 2025 season with the US Open, where she was defeated in the first round by Anna Bondár.
She clinched a single title in her last season, the Open de Rouen, after surpassing Olga Danilović with a scoreline of 6-4, 7-6. Apart from this, she delivered notable performances in the quarterfinal rounds of the Australian Open, Indian Wells Masters, French Open, Italian Open, and Canadian Open, and also reached the semifinal round of the Madrid Open.
The former world No. 3 shared heartfelt moments with Monfils as they both lifted her trophy, and the winner of 13 singles ATP titles was also seen carrying her trophy and her bags. Through the recent X post, the Tennis Letter shared their moment, adding, “Gael Monfils carrying Elina Svitolina’s Auckland trophy off the court. Couple goals forever. ❤️.”
Gael Monfils carrying Elina Svitolina’s Auckland trophy off the court.
Couple goals forever. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/iWuITUfaIj
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 11, 2026
Monfils was last seen in action at the 2025 Chengdu Open, losing the round of 32 to Alexander Shevchenko. In his last season, he claimed a single title at the Auckland Open and delivered impressive performances in the Miami Open, the Indian Wells Open, and the Australian Open.
During her earlier press conference, the Frenchman expressed his admirable thoughts on his wife and her role of being a mother and yet returning to the court with success: “She’s a great mother first. That’s first. People want to put tennis first but I think she’s a great mother first. This is the most important for me as her husband because of course we are a tennis couple but life is beyond our sport. She’s an excellent and great mother and as you said she managed it well on the court. I’m surprised how well she came back, how strong she is mentally and physically. It’s just amazing.”
Svitolina and Monfils began dating in late 2018. They tied the knot in 2021 in Geneva, Switzerland, where the latter resides, and later welcomed their daughter, Skaï, in 2022.
