Gael Monfils kicks off his final run at the 2026 French Open on May 25. Monfils, married to fellow tennis star Elina Svitolina, who’s also competing at Roland Garros, plans to retire after this season.
While Monfils takes on fellow Frenchman Hugo Gaston on Monday, the 39-year-old will have the entire crowd cheering him on during what could be his final match in Paris. Monfils never won a grand slam title, however, one of the most entertaining tennis players in the world has no regrets about his long career.
“At the end of the day, all I’ve ever wanted to be was an elite athlete. You sometimes get hungrier, dream higher, push yourself further,” he told Rolland Garros magazine.
“Yes, as a professional athlete, there are ups and downs, tough times, times when, as a younger man, you don’t always understand, you don’t make the best decisions, you think differently. Sometimes, you have to hit the wall to be able to pick yourself back up again. Experiencing things for yourself, that’s what forges your character and who you become later in life. I’m so proud of my career.”
GettyFrance’s Gael Monfils prepares for a final run at the 2026 French Open.
Monfils, who’s won 13 ATP Tour singles titles, is beloved among his fellow competitors. All the stars showed up to compete in the friendly “Gael& Friends” exhibition at Court Philippe Chatrier last week, including Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, Ben Shelton, Belinda Bencic, Naomi Osaka, Alexander Zverev, and more.
Svitolina couldn’t keep the tears away during the special event. Days before the Monfils-Gaston match at the French Open, she penned an emotional letter to their daughter, Skai, in The Player’s Tribune.
Gael Monfils Said Wife Elina Svitolina’s Letter to Daughter Skai Made Them Both ‘Very Emotional’
Svitolina wrote a heartfelt essay to Skai to encapsulate her feelings on Monfils’ career. The letter began, “A few days from now, something very special is going to happen, right here in Paris. You’re only three years old, so a little too young still to know about it 🙂
“But I am writing you this letter, with the hope that one day you will read your mom’s thoughts and then you will understand. You will understand why your dad means so much to so many people around the world. You will understand why his career has been such an amazing one… and why his final Roland Garros is such a beautiful moment.”
The Ukrainian star, who won her first title in eight years at the Italian Open earlier this month, called Monfils “the best magician.” She noted “his creativity, his speed, his intelligence, his coordination… and let’s be honest, his cute smile :).”
Monfils revealed that his wife didn’t share the letter with him until after the “Gael and Friends” event on May 21. “The truth is that that day, she read it to me late at night when I came back from the event. We were both very emotional in a way.
“I didn’t know. I was very touched… Very touched. It was funny that it was one of the first times I could see her so… to open up a bit on that. For me, it took me very deep.”
Gael Monfils Plans to Work in Finance After Retirement
GettyGael Monfils is retiring from tennis and entering the world of finance.
In addition to spending more time with Skai, making sure she feels “happy and secure,” Monfils is preparing to enter the world of finance after retirement. “I’ve always said that I wanted to work in finance,” he told Roland Garros magazine.
“I’ve been interested in it for a long time. I’ve already been lucky enough to have a bit of experience in finance outside tennis, and I’ve met a few people from this world. I could see myself becoming a wealth manager and taking training courses to find my place and start this new chapter in my life.”
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