Gaël Monfils admitted his divorce from Elina Svitolina meant he couldn’t envision playing tennis, which led to his earlier-than-expected retirement.

Last week, the tennis star couple announced the end of their five-year marriage in a joint social media post. While speaking in French during a Twitch live stream on Monday, Monfils said the divorce meant that “everything I do is not as good as it used to be,” including tennis.

“It’s already very hard to return to the courts for my retirement, with different emotions. I just didn’t find it possible to play,” he said.

The 40-year-old added that he is “eating less” and “can’t train.”

When Svitolina initally made the announcement, she cited the emotional impact of Russia’s war in her native country, Ukraine. She later clarified there is “so much more” to the decision.

The announcement came months after the couple competed together for the first time at the U.S. Open in the slam’s mixed doubles event. The Frenchman’s farewell tour would then abruptly end in the singles event with a secon-round loss to American Learner Tien.

Monfils was set to retire at the Paris Masters in November, yet the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) listed him as retired as of Oct. 5.

“The break up with Elina really hurt me,” he said Monday. “We’re only human; we’ve all got our own problems and we don’t necessarily control what we want.

“This separation didn’t leave me unaffected. For people who’ve been in my situation, living through a breakup isn’t easy: When something like that happens, I can’t train the way I want to. I’m not in the best frame of mind.”

Monfils first opened up about the divorce five days after the initial announcement, defending Svitolina after what he deemed was a “venomous” response from fans on social media.

“While some may not understand her reasons, or agree with them, please remember that there is so much more that happens in a relationship behind the curtain that cannot be explained in a post,” Monfils wrote. “Elina has her battles to fight, just as I have mine. I respect her choices and reasons, and we will continue to support and care deeply about each other, especially as two people who share a child.”     

Svitolina and Monfils got married in Switzerland in July 2021, and welcomed a daughter, Skaï, in October 2022.

A farwell to Monfils and his career will occur at the Paris Masters on Nov. 3 between the night match sessions.