On Monfils' big night, Svitolina tells daughter Skaï about her dad, 'the magician'

For more than 20 years, Gael Monfils has thrilled tennis fans worldwide, and become one of the most popular tennis players amongst his peers on the ATP Tour and WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz.

For the last eight of those years, Elina Svitolina has had a front-row seat. The Ukrainian and Frenchman became tennis' premier power couple in 2018, married in 2021, and welcomed a daughter named Skaï the next year -- and the family is celebrating an emotional milestone at the upcoming French Open. It will be the 39-year-old Monfils' 19th Roland Garros, and his last, as he announced last October that he'll retire from tennis at season's end. Monfils was celebrated with grand fanfare in Paris on Thursday, in a mixed doubles exhibition with Svitolina and other players including Novak Djokovic, Naomi Osaka, Emma Raducanu and Jannik Sinner -- among others -- taking part.

The couple fittingly won the competition of "Gael & Friends" -- and their wasn't a dry eye to be found in the house as the tournament paid tribute to him. But the extended beyond the boundaries of a sold-out Court Philippe-Chatrier, too.

Hours earlier, Svitolina released an emotional letter to the 3-year-old in The Players' Tribune that told the true story of "her dad the magician, before his last show in Paris."

"Your dad, in just one shot, one moment, he could achieve what I think few athletes ever achieve," Svitolina wrote. "He could make people feel something. Almost like at a concert and there’s a perfect song, or at the movies and there’s a perfect line, and you have this feeling like, 'Oh my god. Wow.' It takes your breath away. I wouldn’t say that sports are usually like this. They are competition, you know?

"But if you watch Gaël play, there are moments where you connect to something deeper than sports. Where you feel like, OK, tennis, this is not just one player trying to grind another player to dust. When it’s in the very best moments? It’s also magic.

"And your dad was the best magician. ... You are feeling like he’s putting on a magic show, just for you."

The heartwarming editorial reflects on Monfils’ career, and how he built cult-favorite status as an athlete while overcoming many obstacles. She notes that while many observers have reduced him the man they affectionately call "La Monf" to “a charismatic showman,” and even critiqued him as an underachiever, she wants her daughter, and readers, to know that "he’s quite complex.”

"He has such a strong, thoughtful mind, where I always feel like he’s reflecting on many things. In truth, he will more often be quiet than loud," she wrote, reflecting on the dichotomy of Monfils' on- and off-court personas. She goes on to explore topics that paint the full picture of not just Monfils the player, but Monfils the man -- including racial discrimination Monfils experienced in his youth, the story of how they fell in love, and how he has supported her in the aftermath of war in her home country of Ukraine.

And, she adds, "a secret" that Monfils taught her -- a lesson that she hopes to pass on to their child.

"Your dad showed it to me, so now I’ll tell it to you," she wrote. "The secret is: Life, it’s actually not about just adding up our results. Life is about so much more than this. It’s about who we are, and who we become, on the way to these results. It’s about the experiences we are able to have, the relationships we are able to build, the feelings we are able to inspire and share. It’s about staying true."

"Because to me, with your dad … when I think of his career … more than anything else, I think of that," she added. "How he always, always, always stayed true. To his own path. To his own style. To his own identity. To his own beliefs. To his joy for the game … his respect for the game … his love for the game … and even simply to the game itself. And I hope that when people talk about his impact on the game, everywhere but especially here at Roland Garros, it’s what they say."