PARIS — Gael Monfils spoke to a near-capacity crowd at Court Philippe Chatrier who cheered and cheered loudly until the final point. Goodbye He booked his place at Roland Garros with an emotional 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, 6-0 loss to Hugo Gaston in the first round on Monday night.
After falling two sets behind, Monfils displayed the brilliance that has made him one of the sport’s most beloved showmen for more than two decades with his masterful shotmaking and incredible athleticism, taking the fourth set and the deciding chance. But in the final set, despite the best efforts of almost everyone involved, he had nothing to offer.
At match point, the crowd, which included most of his family and friends, shouted “Gael, Gael,” as they had repeated many times during the match. Although he saved the first match point, he lost on Gaston’s second attempt soon after.
When the match ended three hours and 22 minutes later, so too did Monfils’ storied career at Roland Garros. The 39-year-old previously said this would be his final year on tour and his last appearance in a tournament.
After giving the fans a standing ovation and exchanging hugs and congratulations, Gaston pointed at Monfils and urged the crowd to continue cheering instead of celebrating his victory.
An on-court ceremony followed and a highlight video was shown featuring many of Monfils’ best moments from the tournament, including winning the junior title in 2004 and reaching the semi-finals in 2008.
Monfils then addressed the crowd and thanked his parents.
“I’m here tonight because of those two,” he said in French.
Monfils, who reached a career-high ranking of No. 6, acknowledged his brothers, the French Tennis Federation and his long-time French colleagues and close friends Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Richard Gasquet and Gilles Simon. He concluded by thanking his wife, Elina Svitolina, the current world No. 7, who was seen wiping tears during most of the speech.
“Without her, I might not be here tonight,” he said, adding that she supports him “not as a tennis man, but as a man” and thanked her for giving him his greatest gift, his 3-year-old daughter Skye.
Another video tribute was then shown to the audience, but most remained in their seats, even though it was well after midnight and the last subway train was about to leave. The match featured many of his longtime rivals, including Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
“A friend, a great career, one of the most likeable players, a fun player,” Djokovic said. “Nobody hates you, Gael. I think that’s your biggest victory. We go back to the first time we played against each other when we were 13 or 14 years old. You were a guy who always had a smile on his face, said hello every time, and treated everyone with respect. So the legacy you built, not just as a tennis player, but as a person, will last forever.”
In addition to French colleague and 1983 French Open champion Yannick Noah, Carlos Alcaraz and Yannick Sinner also mentioned Monfils in the video.
“We will miss our players, Gael, especially in the dressing room,” said world number one Sinner. “I’m your big fan.”
Monfils then ended the night with one last group hug on court with Tsonga, Gasquet and Simon, known as the “New Musketeers.” Monfils is the only one of the four former French tennis prospects who is still active as an active player.
Monfils plans to play the remainder of the 2026 season, but it’s not entirely clear which tournaments he will participate in. He told reporters he was now hoping to earn a wild card for Wimbledon and the US Open. He reached the semifinals in New York in 2016. He plans to finish his career at the Paris Masters in November.
Svitolina is one of the favorites to win the women’s title at Roland Garros. She won the Italian Open earlier this month and also won her first round match earlier Monday.
