Elina Svitolina wrote a letter to her three-year-old child that doubled as a tribute to Gaël Monfils, calling his final Roland Garros a beautiful moment just days before he was due to play his last matches at the tournament in Paris. In the personal note, she said Monfils was one of the greatest shot-makers anyone has ever seen and described the kind of spark he could create with a single point or shot.
“With your dad, it’s so simple,” Svitolina wrote in the letter, capturing the affection at the center of the message and the reason she wanted the child to understand Monfils’ place in tennis. She said his creativity, speed, intelligence, coordination and “cute smile” made him stand out to fans, and that his game could make people feel something almost immediately.
The letter also traced the start of their relationship back to 2017, when Svitolina said they met in New York on a practice court in Central Park after being introduced by a mutual friend. A year later, she said, she won the WTA Finals in Singapore and traveled to Paris to celebrate.
That night, Svitolina said, Monfils messaged her while he was also in Paris, asking, “he’s also in Paris, and should we meet up while we’re each out with our friends.” She said they later met up with friends, and Monfils walked her to her taxi at the end of the evening. Svitolina said he was sober that night and that she was celebrating.
The timing gave the letter added weight: Monfils’ final appearance at Roland Garros was approaching, and Svitolina chose to frame it not as a farewell alone but as a portrait of the player fans have watched for years. The source does not provide match results from the tournament, but the message makes clear that, for Svitolina, the significance of the day was tied as much to Monfils’ style and career as to the end of one chapter in Paris.
For readers looking at French Open 2026 results, the letter offered something different from a scoreline. It was a reminder that tennis is sometimes remembered not just for who won, but for the players who made the sport feel alive in a single shot.
