Elina Svitolina revealed that her daughter “got very sick” days before she and her husband Gael Monfils were set to travel to Auckland to start the 2024 season. The tennis couple welcomed their first child back in October 2022 and have started travelling with her for the first time. But they were forced to push back their flights to New Zealand when Skai ended up in hospital at Christmas.
Svitolina is one of eight mums to have entered this year’s Australian Open, among the likes of Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber who both returned from pregnancy this month. The Ukrainian has already been back on the tennis tour for almost a year after welcoming her first child with ATP star Monfils and the pair are now travelling with their daughter after leaving her at home during tournaments in 2023.
But their first experience taking Skai to a tournament was almost jeopardised when she was rushed to hospital when they were meant to fly to Auckland to prepare for the Australian Open. The former world No. 3 detailed the experience in her new BBC column, revealing that they wouldn’t have come if their daughter was any worse.
“As all parents know, when you have your own child you have to put other events on hold if they are sick. For a tennis player that might even mean tournaments,” Svitolina said. “At Christmas, Skai got sick and she had to go to emergency for six hours with me and Gael. She was not feeling good and got very sick.”