Elina Svitolina shares what it's like practicing with husband Gael Monfils at Miami Open
The sport's power couple have both made it through to the second week in California.
Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils don’t currently have the problem of being away from family on the professional tennis circuit. The married couple are competing at the Miami Open and have both won through to the last-16 of their respective draws.
Svitolina beat Karolina Muchova 6-2 3-6 6-2 on Sunday, just hours before Monfils came through a cliffhanger with Jaume Munar. He needed a deciding set tie-break to beat the Spaniard before prevailing 7-5 5-7 7-6 (1). The pair have now helped each other prepare for their fourth-round matches with an impromptu husband and wife practice session.
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Svitolina, 30, has now shared details of their time together on court. The world No.22 said both stars enjoy hitting up with each other, but conceded that the session was probably more beneficial for her than it was for Monfils.
“It was a good practice,” she said. “I mean when we practice together we both enjoy it a lot. I feel like for me, it's very good, but for him, I'm not so sure.”
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The Ukrainian is due back on court in the early hours of Tuesday morning to play second seed Iga Swiatek. She underlined how practicing with Monfils, 38, has boosted her ahead of her clash with the Pole, adding: “I can adjust my feet really quick, be on with my footwork which is really important and a big part of my game.”
Monfils will play against Sebastian Korda later in the day. After both played in Indian Wells, the couple headed to Miami together, where they took their two-year-old daughter Skai with them.
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While in California, Svitolina spoke of the advantages of being with her family on tour. She and Monfils got married in July 2021, having publicly revealed their relationship two years earlier.
“There is time for training and recovery and (time to) just completely switch off from everything,” she said. “Also time with my family. I have my daughter here, Gael is here also, so it's nice to sometimes switch off completely from what's going on.”
