The 39-year-old’s most consistent period came in the mid-2010s, when the ‘big three’ – Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal – were at their peak. The Frenchman reached a career-high ranking of sixth in the world in 2016 after reaching the semi-finals of the US Open, when he was beaten by Djokovic. Monfils’ run at Flushing Meadows was the second of two Grand Slam semi-final appearances in his career, having lost to Federer in the last four of the 2008 French Open. “While I came close, I never did win a Grand Slam during my career,” continued Monfils.”I won’t pretend that I expect to do so during the next year.”The Frenchman inflicted a shock defeat on world number one Carlos Alcaraz at the Cincinnati Open in 2024.But the Spaniard and world number two Jannik Sinner have won nine of the past 10 Grand Slams between them.”An exciting new generation of players is already here and I hope they’ll enjoy their time on the court as much as I have for the last two decades,” said Monfils.
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Gael Monfils to retire from tennis in 2026
