Elina Svitolina is going from strength to strength as her 2026 season unfolds. After starting her campaign as the champion in Auckland, the Ukrainian star has now earned glory at the WTA 1000 level again, eight years after her previous such victory.
The Italian Open victory has been a long time coming for Svitolina, who’s managed to steadily reascend to the top after giving birth to her and husband Gaël Monfils’ daughter, Skaï, in 2022.
Elina Svitolina’s Husband Gaël Monfils Reacts As She Reclaims Italian Open Crown
Svitolina no stranger to winning in Rome. Before this Saturday, the player had four WTA 1000 trophies to her name, two of those won in the Italian capital (2017 and 2018). In the 2026 edition, she staged a historic run, becoming the oldest woman to beat three top-5 opponents en route to the title. In doing so, she surpassed Serena Williams’ Miami 2013 record.
Aged 31 years and 235 days, Svitolina beat returning finalist Coco Gauff in a rollercoaster battle to secure a 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-2 win. Before that, she outlasted two fellow former champions, Iga Świątek 6-4, 2-6, 6-2, and Elena Rybakina 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.
After the win against Gauff, her husband, Monfils, a former World No. 6, wrote a few heartfelt words celebrating his wife. “Eight years. Eight years to climb back to the top of a Masters 1000. What a season, what a week, what a player. But above all, what a woman,” he wrote on Instagram.
After their wedding in 2021, Svitolina gave birth to the couple’s daughter Skaï in October 2022 and returned to the tour just six months later. A few weeks in, she won her first title as a mother at the WTA 250 in Strasbourg. Svitolina re-entered the top 25 by the end of 2023, for which she won the WTA’s Comeback Player of the Year award.
“An incredible mom to Skaï, an exceptional athlete, a soul like no other,” Monfils said in his message after the Italian Open.
“I’m so proud of you, my love. Of your strength, your calm, of everything you carry quietly day after day. You inspire me every single day,” he continued. “Enjoy this; soak it all in. You deserve every second of it. I love you.”
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2026 is turning out to be a significant year for both players. Gaël Monfils, who turned pro in 2004, has announced his plans to retire by the end of the season. The Frenchman has won 13 titles so far in his celebrated career, with two semifinal appearances at Grand Slams (the French Open in 2008 and the US Open in 2016). He’s also twice been a quarterfinalist at the Australian Open (2016 and 2022).
Svitolina, meanwhile, is now placed third in the race to the WTA Finals, behind World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and World No. 2 Rybakina.
Besides her titles in Auckland and Rome, she also reached the final at the WTA 1000 event in Dubai. Other highlights of her season so far include reaching the semifinals at the Australian Open, the Indian Wells Open, and the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart.
MORE: Elina Svitolina Fondly Details Husband Gaël Monfils’ ‘Precious’ Bond With Daughter Skaï
The Ukrainian star would hope to carry the momentum at the French Open, where she reached the quarterfinals five times.
