Gael Monfils bids farewell to Roland Garros after emotional French Open loss

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Gael Monfils bids farewell to Roland Garros after emotional French Open loss

Gaël Monfils played his last match at his home Grand Slam, when the 39-year-old fell in the first round of the French Open to fellow Frenchman Hugo Gaston late in the Paris night on Monday, May 25.

Monfils battled to the end of the five sets, which lasted more than three hours, with the crowd cheering loudly for their hometown hero toward the end of the competition. Monfils made the sign of the cross and tapped the ground on Court Philippe Chatrier in his appreciation for the Roland Garros tournament. The two opponents met at the net after the match and shared a hug. His wife, tennis player Elina Svitolina, was in tears as she watched from the stands.

Svitolina rallied to beat Hungary’s Anna BondĂĄr in a tough, three-set first-round match earlier Monday, 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (10-3).

Gaston went up 6-2, 6-3 before Monfils responded to even the match winning the third set 6-3 and the fourth 6-2. But, Gaston took completecontrol in the final set, which he won 6-0.

In his 19th appearance at the French Open, Monfils finishes at the hallowed clay of Roland-Garros 16-3 in first round matches and 40 match wins at the tournament, tied for the most among French male players, per the TNT Sports broadcast.

After the match, he was given a plaque with a slab of the clay from the court where he reunited with France’s “Four Musketeers:” Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Richard Gasquet and Gilles Simon. Event organizers also played a tribute video featuring highlights of his tennis journey.

“Gael, it’s been more than a pleasure,” the official X account of Roland-Garros posted with the video after the match. They also shared a clip with words of congratulations from people across the tennis world.

“GaĂ«l, I just want to congratulate you for this amazing career that you had,” Rafael Nadal said. “Have been a huge pleasure to share all those years. I remember the first time I see you when we were very small kids and we made it! We had a very long and successful career.”

“My friend, an incredible career,” Novak Djokovic added. “One of the most likeable guys, fun guys out there. It’s no one that does it like you, GaĂ«l. I think that’s your biggest victory.”

Monfils announced in October that this season will be his last. He has won 13 titles in his career along with 130 Grand Slam wins, the most among French male players, per the TNT broadcast. He was ranked as high as No. 6 in the ATP Tour standings in 2016. The news of his retirement was met with well wishes from Djokovic, Naomi Osaka, Ons Jabeur and more.

He made headlines at the 2025 Australian Open when he upset Taylor Fritz in the third round at the age of 38.

Swiss legend Stan Wawrinka also lost earlier in the day in what is is final French Open.

The ATP Tour runs through November, so Monfils and Wawrinka will still make appearances at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open before their final farewells.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gael Monfils plays last French Open, loses emotional first-round match

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