Gael Monfils had already confirmed that the would retire at the end of the 2026 season, but the star’s career might already be over.
Fans began to speculate when the star’s status was changed to ‘retired’ on the International Tennis Integrity Agency’s official website, but many were surprised by the timing.
Monfils was expected to bring his career to a close on home soil, at the Paris Masters, the final Masters tournament on the ATP Tour.
The French tournament is due to take place between the 2nd and 8th November, and it would have marked Monfils’ 12th appearance at his home event.
However, those recent claims appear to be true and they have been confirmed by an ITIA spokesperson following the the rapid wildfire on social media.
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The head of communication at the ITIA told L’Equipe: “He informed us about it; he is now considered retired and is no longer authorised to participate in tournaments.
“Technically, he would need to undergo six months of out-of-competition testing before being able to return to the competition. Just like Serena Williams did.”
Following his retirement from the sport, Monfils will go down as one of the most entertaining players in the history of tennis.
The Frenchman claimed 13 ATP Tour titles in his career, including three at ATP 500 level.
The star unfortunately never claimed a Masters title, but he did reach three finals throughout his career. The star was beaten in the Paris Masters final twice in consecutive years in 2009 and 2010, to Novak Djokovic and Robin Soderling.
He also reached the 2016 Monte Carlo Masters final, but he lost to Rafael Nadal.
At Grand Slam level, Monfils often found himself at the latter stages of the four biggest tournaments on the tennis calendar.
He reached the semifinals of both Roland Garros and the US Open, losing to Roger Federer in Paris and Djokovic in New York.
Monfils also reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open on two occasions, while a singular fourth round appearance at Wimbledon in 2018 was his best effort at SW19.
The Frenchman would have undoubtedly won several major tournaments if he was born in a different era, but he found himself playing at the height of the ‘big three’.
He lost 20 times to Djokovic without recording a win and his record against Nadal and Federer were not much better.
Monfils claimed 2 victories in his 16 matches against Nadal, while he picked up four victories against Federer in their 14 matches on the ATP Tour.
Whatever the titles Monfils claimed in his career, his sheer longevity in the sport will see him go down as a legend of the sport.
