Portrait – The tennis player is preparing for the Paris Olympics, sharing behind-the-scenes photos of her young mother’s daily life on Instagram and raising money to help Ukraine. Meanwhile, he has just been appointed Dockers brand ambassador.
She is sitting on a sofa in the lobby of the Pullman Hotel, a stone’s throw from the Paris-Bercy Palace, where her husband, Gael Montfils, is preparing to take part in the first round of the Masters 1000. Back straight, both. hands on knees, Elina Svitolina is ready. ready to talk about her new title as Dockers brand ambassador, as well as later joining the stands to cheer on her husband. The athlete, with blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, is wearing gray jeans, a green crew neck sweatshirt and a pair of sneakers. A look she describes as “casual” and which shows her affinity for comfortable clothes and sportswear. His posture, his focused sea-green eyes, his controlled smile… Everything betrays a nature that is always looking, always “focused” on the bronze medalist at the Tokyo Olympics two years ago, who married Gael Monfils elsewhere in July 2021. .
Born in Odessa in 1994, Elina Svitolina makes her background a force to defend at all costs. Even more so after Russia’s invasion of his home country in February 2022, following months of diplomatic tension. He says Ukraine has given him everything, starting with his youth and culture, which he wants to convey to his 1.4 million Instagram followers.
Multi-terrain sports car
Since 2010, the athlete has won sixteen singles titles in women’s tennis. Returning from maternity leave in April, after an absence of more than a year, we saw her make a remarkable comeback, winning the tournament in Strasbourg, reaching the quarter-finals and semi-finals of Roland Garros. at Wimbledon. He also puts his energy into United 24, a donation platform run by the Ukrainian government, for which he is an ambassador. “I feel lucky and proud to represent Ukraine. Not only on the tennis court, but also in different directions. (…) Together with United 24, we help them return to Ukraine to secure accommodation. Some of the destroyed houses are being rebuilt. I also worked on the generator project, because last winter there was no electricity in the city of Kyiv, including in the hospitals.”
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In October, she proudly appeared on the cover of the magazine’s fall issue Vogue Ukraine. A number dedicated to female athletes, which she shares with other female athletes from her country: fencer Olga Kharlan and high jumper Yaroslava Mahuchych. A “dream” for a young woman who sees this as an opportunity to support her own foundation this time (of the same name), which was created in 2019 and is dedicated to supporting young Ukrainian tennis talents.
Young mom, style champion
She says she finds breathing room in her family circle. Since October 2022, Elina, the mother of a little girl, shares with Gael Monfils the Instagram account @gemslife. This is where the couple reveals photos and videos of their daily life. No filter, “except sometimes when there are some nice photos during a photo shoot,” he likes to point out. “To show that we are just normal people.” In the caption of the account, we can read “We are not perfect. We make mistakes. And we will make even more mistakes. And that’s good. We learn from them, analyze and move forward.”
“Mistakes” that Elina Svitolina uses to sign projects that match her values. After Gael Monfils, he has been the Dockers brand ambassador since September. “We share the same style,” she explains, not forgetting to mention the kind of charitable fashion competition that drives their relationship. “I never ask him for his opinion, but he sometimes asks me. We both like to be stylish. “Sometimes I steal a few jackets from him because they fit me better.” Obviously, when they get married in 2021, their outfits are coordinated. A purple suit is required for him. For her, a white dress with a purple tulle train. A piece signed by designer Virgil Abloh, who died just a few months after their marriage. The young woman remembers several telephone exchanges with the designer. “He brought some of his own nuances to create this masterpiece. It’s very special to me, I could never dream of anything better than having a dress made by her. I think it might be one of the last pieces he made, which makes it even more special.”
Elina’s future big project. “Medal” during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, during which he will represent Ukraine in his category. Not without “pressure,” a feeling he prefers to view as a “privilege.”
Source: Le Figaro
