Tennis players Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils are expecting their first child together.
The couple, married since July, shared the same announcement to their individual social media accounts on Sunday.
“With a heart full of love and happiness, we are delighted to announce that we are expecting a baby girl in October,” they wrote.
With a heart full of love and happiness, we are delighted to announce that we are expecting a baby girl in October ?????? pic.twitter.com/y8EwwO6Htf
— Elina Monfils (@ElinaSvitolina) May 15, 2022
On March 29, Svitolina announced she was taking a break from tennis, citing, in part, the Russian invasion of her native Ukraine.
“It’s been an extremely difficult couple of months for me, not only mentally but also physically,” she posted to social media. “For a quite long time I’ve been struggling with my back. The pain didn’t let me prepare for the tournaments at my best.
“Meanwhile, observing with unbearable pain in my heart what is happening in my homeland Ukraine and with how much bravery and courage our Ukrainian people are defending our country, this gave me a huge push to continue and fight on court. Now, my body can’t handle it anymore and I need to rest.”
Svitolina, 27, has 16 career wins, most recently in Chicago in 2021. She reached a career-high No. 3 on the WTA Tour in September 2017.
The 35-year-old Monfils is ranked No. 21 on the ATP Tour. He is the No. 3 seed in the tournament being played this week in Lyon, France.
–Field Level Media
