Elina Svitolina hints at early retirement to look after her daughter Skai Monfils

Elina Svitolina has hinted that she might retire from professional tennis earlier than expected in order to take care of her daughter Skai Monfils.

Svitolina and her husband Gael Monfils got married in 2021. About 14 months later, in October last year, they embraced parenthood with the birth of their daughter Skai. The Ukrainian has been raring to hit the court ever since.

But Svitolina is now trying to strike the right balance between parenthood and tennis. Speaking to Punto de Break, the former World No. 3 stated that she wants to spend "all" of her time with her daughter.

"I would like to spend all my time with Skai and share every moment with her," Svitolina said. "But I decided to return to competition and focus on my tennis. I don't know how many more seasons I will play."

Svitolina does, however, have a fixed set of goals that she yearns to achieve before hanging up her racket.

"There are some milestones I would like to achieve before retiring. In the near future I am clear about my plans in the term. I will play an ITF tournament in Oeiras, Portugal, then I will rest for a week and then I will play a WTA 125 in Saint-Malo. In May I will use the protected ranking to play the WTA 1000 in Rome, then Strasbourg and finally Roland Garros," she said.

Elina Svitolina also acknowledged the need to find her rhythm amid all the irregular breaks between tournaments.

"The important thing is to feel good and play better and better," she opined. "I have to find my rhythm, readapt myself to the circuit and everything that is required. It's a complicated process that I want to face with commitment."

---

Elina Svitolina to play ITF Portugal 04A

Elina Svitolina at the 2022 BNP Paribas Open

Elina Svitolina will next be seen in action at the ITF Portugal 04A, a W100 event in Oeiras, where she will face Clara Tauson in the first round on Wednesday (April 18). This will be the first meeting between the duo.

Svitolina is coming off an early exit at the ITF Switzerland 01A, where she endured a second-round defeat to Alexandra Cadantu-Ignatik.

Tauson, meanwhile, had an impressive run to the quarterfinals of the Linz Open earlier this year. The 20-year-oold most recently played in the Billie Jean King Cup, where she earned a crucial point over Egypt's Sandra Samir to help Denmark to a 2-1 win in the relegation playoffs.