"Cuddles" - Elina Svitolina delights fans with video of her and Gael Monfils' daughter Skai bonding with their pet dog

Elina Svitolina recently captured a heartwarming moment between her daughter Skai and their family dog, and shared it on social media.

Svitolina, who has been married to fellow tennis professional and ATP star Gael Monfils since April 2021, gave birth to Skai in October 2022. The pair often share pictures of their first-born via their respective social media accounts.

Svitolina's Instagram account in particular has featured numerous beautiful moments with her daughter. She continued the trend on Monday (February 5) night, posting an adorable moment between Skai and their dog.

Skai can be seen petting the furry creature, as Svitolina gushes at the encounter in the backdrop.

"Cuddles," Svitolina captioned the photograph.

Elina Svitolina captures a heartwarming moment between daughter Skai and her dog at their home

The post a flurry of complimentary messages from fans, who seemed delighted at seeing the family moment.

While the name of the dog is still unknown to the public, it is clear that he is a part of the family. Svitolina celebrated the dog's first birthday on February 25 last year, wishing the "troublemaker" a happy birthday via her Instagram account.

"Our cute troublemaker is 1 year old today #doggo," Elina Svitolina captioned her Instagram post.

A brief look at Elina Svitolina's 2024 season so far

Elina Svitolina at the 2024 Australian Open - Getty Images

Elina Svitolina has had a relatively good start to her 2024 campaign, reaching the finals at the ASB Classic and the fourth round at the Australian Open.

In Auckland, she beat former World No. 1 and fellow mom Caroline Wozniacki in the first round, with the scoreline reading 6-4, 6-3. She halted Emma Radacanu's return to tennis in round two in a grueling three-set affair 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3), 6-1. She then beat fifth seed Marie Bouzkova and Wang Xiyu in the quarters and semis respectively en route the finals.

Up against top seed Coco Gauff in the summit clash, Svitolina went down fighting 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-3.

Seeded 19th at the Australian Open, Svitolina brushed aside Taylah Preston in round one 6-2, 6-2. Her second round encounter was quite similar, dismissing Viktoriya Tomova 6-1, 6-3. She continued the onslaught in the next round against Viktorija Golubic, winning 6-2, 6-3.

In the fourth round against teen Linda Noskova, Svitolina had to unfortunately retire due to a back injury. She was down 0-3 at the time.

The former World No. 3 made her comeback to the sport in April last year. She was out for nearly a year due to health problems and emotional exhaustion from the war in Ukraine. She also gave birth to daughter Skai during that time.