Svitolina Details Tour Life with Monfils and Calls for Prize Equality
Elina Svitolina spoke about travelling on tour with husband Gael Monfils after reaching the Indian Wells quarterfinals, and she used her post-match press conference to press for greater prize-money parity at high-level events. svitolina said Monfils preserves energy by spending more time inside, a habit she described after advancing when Katerina Siniakova retired in the second set.
Svitolina on tour habits with Gael Monfils after Indian Wells run
At Indian Wells, where Svitolina reached the quarterfinals following Katerina Siniakova’s retirement in the second set, she explained what touring with Gael Monfils looks like. She said Monfils spends a lot of time inside to preserve energy for matches, and noted that he is eight years older than her and that his game is more physical. svitolina has spent 18 years as a professional and has been ranked as high as three, which she cited while reflecting on what she has learned from his approach.
Svitolina pressing prize-money equality and the Cincinnati comparison
Svitolina called for equal prize money at ATP and WTA 1000 tournaments, arguing that parity at Grand Slams is not mirrored across the 250, 500 and 1000 levels. She pointed to Indian Wells as an example that offers the same amount for men and women, while highlighting discrepancies elsewhere. At the Cincinnati Open last year, the men’s champion received $1, 124, 380 while the women’s champion received $752, 275, a concrete gap she cited when making her case.
| Tournament | Men’s champion prize | Women’s champion prize |
|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Open (last year) | $1, 124, 380 | $752, 275 |
Svitolina, Monfils and family milestones since 2018
Svitolina and Monfils began their relationship in 2018 and publicly confirmed it in 2019. The pair briefly separated in 2021 but married later that year, and they welcomed daughter Skai in 2022. The timeline of those milestones frames how Svitolina described life on the road, and it also contextualizes comments about how Monfils structures his time around matches.
If the WTA commitment to provide equal prize money at combined 1000 tournaments by 2027 continues, then the gap Svitolina highlighted—illustrated by the Cincinnati Open figures—would narrow at the highest non-Grand Slam level. That scenario would mean more tournaments match Indian Wells’ approach and create a clearer baseline for parity across 1000 events by the 2027 milestone.
Should Gael Monfils retire this year as noted in the context, Svitolina’s touring routine could change because the spending-more-time-inside approach she described would be less directly tied to a partner’s match schedule. Retirement would alter who she travels with and how the day-to-day cadence on tour influences her own energy management, given Monfils’ age difference and physical style.
The next confirmed signal from the context is the WTA’s commitment to equal prize money at combined 1000 tournaments by 2027. What the context does not resolve is which specific 1000 events beyond Indian Wells will adopt parity first, and how quickly the prize structures at events like Cincinnati will align. Expect the 2027 deadline to be the concrete milestone that tests whether Svitolina’s public push and the WTA pledge translate into consistent pay equality across top-tier non-Grand Slam tournaments.
