"We miss her really much" - Elina Svitolina opens up about missing her daughter Skai on tour and FaceTiming every day

Elina Svitolina recently discussed her longing for her daughter Skai while on tour, sharing that they engage in daily FaceTime conversations.

In her first-round match at the US Open on Tuesday, Svitolina secured a decisive 6-3, 6-1 victory over Anna-Lena Friedsam in just under an hour.

At the post-match presser, Svitolina was asked whether her daughter Skai had accompanied her to New York. She confirmed that her daughter had not made the trip and that she missed her very much. The former World No. 3 also mentioned that they FaceTime every single day.

"No, Skai is not with us. She's at home," she said. "We decided for the sake of her health to leave her at home, unfortunately. We miss her really much because this is like the last push now. It's been one month now that we didn't see her. We FaceTime every single day."

"But, yeah, it's not easy," she added.

Elina Svitolina's comeback after pregnancy

Elina Svitolina after defeating Anna-Lena Friedsam at the US Open

Following the birth of her daughter Skaï with her husband, French tennis player Gael Monfils, in October last year, Elina Svitolina has made an impressive comeback to the sport.

In May, she won the Internationaux de Strasbourg, beating Anna Blinkova in the final. She then advanced to the quarterfinals at Roland Garros before falling to Aryna Sabalenka. The Ukrainian went one better at Wimbledon, reaching the semifinals and beating World No. 1 Iga Swiatek along the way. She was ousted by eventual champion Marketa Vondrousova.

She currently sits at World No. 26 in the WTA rankings.

Svitolina will square off against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the second round of the US Open. The Russian leads their head-to-head 3-2, although it was the Ukrainian who came out on top in their last meeting in 2020.