French tennis star Gael Monfils has officially ended his professional career earlier than expected. Although the attractive tennis player had already announced his intention to hang up his racket at the end of the 2026 season, his career seems to be over for good now.
Fans began to speculate about his fate after the Frenchman's status on the official website of the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) was changed to “retired“. The surprise for sports fans was great, as he was expected to end his journey in front of his home audience at the Masters tournament in Paris between 2 and 8 November, which would have been his 12th appearance in the French capital.
However, the information was confirmed to the newspaper L'Equipe by a spokesperson for the agency after it quickly spread on social networks. “He informed us about this; he is currently considered retired and is no longer eligible to participate in tournaments. Technically, he will have to undergo six months of out-of-competition testing before he can return to competition. Just like Serena Williams did.“
With his retirement, Monfils remains in history as one of the most attractive and beloved competitors on the court. The Frenchman has won 13 ATP Tour titles in his career, three of which have been ATP 500 titles. He has never won a Masters Series title, but he has reached three finals – two in Paris in 2009 and 2010, losing to Novak Djokovic and Robin Söderling respectively, and one in Monte Carlo in 2016 against Rafael Nadal.
The Frenchman has often reached the final stages of Grand Slam tournaments. He was a semi-finalist at Roland Garros, where he lost to Roger Federer, and at the US Open, where he was stopped by Djokovic. He reached the quarterfinals twice in Australia, and his best Wimbledon performance was reaching the fourth round in 2018.
Monfils would undoubtedly have had significantly more major honours if he had not competed in the era of the Big Three. Against Djokovic, he suffered 20 defeats in 20 matches, against Nadal he recorded 2 victories in 16 meetings, and against Federer he achieved 4 successes in 14 matches. Regardless of the trophies won, his exceptional longevity and charisma make him a true legend of world tennis.