Monfils embraces his last dance on court

The baseline stretches like a canvas under autumn sun, where a veteran’s shadow lengthens with purpose. Gael Monfils, the elastic force who has bent tennis to his whims since 2004, now draws the line at 2026. His leaps, once defying gravity, now carry the quiet weight of finality, a showman’s grace yielding to time’s steady pull.

Tracing roots through relentless rallies

From a toddler’s first grip at two and a half to pro circuits at 18, Monfils forged a 21-year path lined with 13 titles and a peak at No. 6 in 2016. The Frenchman, beloved for his charisma, shared his retirement on social media on October 1, 2025, his words landing like a precise drop shot amid the tour’s grind. In 2025, his 18-15 record gleams with the Auckland title, where one-two combinations from the baseline unraveled opponents on hard courts, his retrievals turning defense into spectacle.

“I had a racket in my hands for the first time at two and a half, and began playing professionally at 18,“ he wrote. ”Now, after celebrating my 39th birthday just a month ago, I’d like to share that the year ahead will be my last as a professional tennis player.

Crowds have always surged for his inside-out forehands that skimmed lines, the psychological edge of a grin mid-point. Yet the toll accumulated in dives and dives, his body a testament to passion’s price. He credits his team, fans, the French Tennis Federation, peers, parents, wife Elina Svitolina, and daughter Skai for anchoring the journey, their support a rhythm beneath the chaos.

I’ve got something to share with you. pic.twitter.com/pBGh58O6pg
— Gael Monfils (@Gael_Monfils) October 1, 2025

Refining flair for one final surge

Monfils recalibrates now, favoring slice backhands to disrupt on faster surfaces, conserving bursts for those explosive counters that defined his prime. Against grinders, down-the-line backhands pierce the fray, transforming marathons into moments of guile. The 2026 slate—hard courts yielding to clay’s slide, then grass’s quick bounds—beckons as a tactical mosaic, where underspin lobs punish aggression and crosscourt angles wear down youth. His Auckland run previewed this evolution, mixing flat drives with improvisational joy, each point echoing a career’s poetry. Pressure, once a shadow, now fuels liberation; no rankings chase, just the pure tempo of exchange. Peers respect the shift, knowing his presence lit arenas from Paris baselines to New York’s roar, his mental fortitude a quiet weapon in drawn-out battles.

“The opportunity to turn my passion into a profession is a privilege I have cherished during every match and moment of my 21-year career. Though this game means the world to me, I am tremendously at peace with my decision to retire at the end of the 2026 tennis season.”

Savoring twilight with title dreams

At 40, the endpoint aligns like a perfect approach, full circle from boyish swings to elder’s poise. One more trophy tantalizes, but the core pursuit is immersion—the hush before serve, the surge on winners, every slide a farewell note. “When you love something so much, it never feels like a good time to say goodbye,” he reflects, his voice steady amid the tour’s hum. “But 40 will be the right time for me. Of course, winning one more title before I’m done would be truly incredible. Truthfully though, my only real goal for the year ahead is simple. To enjoy every minute, and to play each match like it’s my last.” As schedules swell with majors and masters, Monfils’s encore promises tactical brilliance laced with soul, the tour richer for his defiant spark until the curtain falls.