Paris – Favorite crowd favorite and former world no. 6 Gael Monfils says he will retire at the end of the 2026 tennis season.
At 39 Announced on social media on Wednesday That “the coming year will be my last as a professional tennis player.”
“I held a racket for the first time at two and a half in my hands and started playing professionally at the age of 18,” Monfils wrote. “The opportunity to make a profession of my passion is a privilege that I cherished during every match and moment of my 21-year-old career. Although this game means the world to me, I am very in peace with my decision.”
Monfils has won 13 titles. His best results on Grand Slam tournaments are two semi -finals, on the French Open 2008 and 2016 US Open. He is currently in 53rd place.
“While I came in the neighborhood, I never won a Grand Slam during my career. I will not pretend I expect this the following year,” Monfils said, adding that he has no regrets.
“What I do have is the feeling that I was lucky: amazing, stupid happiness,” he said. “I had the chance to play during a Golden Age of Tennis, in addition to some of the biggest names in the history of our sport: [Roger] Federer, [Rafael] Nadal, [Novak] Djokovic, [Andy] Murray. “
In the footsteps of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gilles Simon and Richard Gasquet, Monfils is the last member of a group of talented French players called “The Musketeers” to stop.
In January, Monfils became the oldest player who won an ATP tour title and achieved the performance in Auckland, New -Zeeland, when he claimed his 13th tour title 20 years after his first at the age of 38, 132 days. He took over from Federer, who was 38 years old, 74 days old when he won the last tour title of his career, the Swiss Indoor title in Basel in 2019.
In 2021, Monfils married the Ukrainian player Elina Svitolina and the couple has a daughter together.
“To every person who has ever cheers or shouted” Allez, Gael! ” In real life or on a TV screen: your energy and love are really everything for me, “Monfils said.
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