Gael Monfils apparently retires before planned

Oct 14 (Field Level Media) - Part-tennis standout and part-showman Gael Monfils has apparently retired ahead of schedule.

The 40-year-old Frenchman did the farewell tour this spring and summer, but had received a wild-card entry to the ATP Masters event in Paris in early November. It was presumed he would play his final competitive match in his home country.

But Monfils appeared on the list of retired players list maintained by the International Tennis Integrity Agency and listed as "inactive" as of Oct. 5. Since this body oversees anti-doping protocol in the sport and Monfils would not be subject to those rules, he is ineligible to compete in professional tournaments.

On Wednesday, the Grand Prix Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, an ATP 250 event in Lyon which begins on Oct. 19, announced that Monfils had pulled out of an exhibition match that included countrymen Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gilles Simon and Richard Gasquet due to personal reasons.

Monfils has not confirmed his retirement, but, similar to Serena Williams' comeback path, he would have to be available for drug-testing for six months before returning to competition.

Monfils made it clear after his second round loss to Learner Tien at the 2026 U.S. Open -- which now appears to be his final profession match --that he plans to enter the business world and announced that he had signed on with a Swiss company to work in wealth management.

Monfils won 13 ATP Tour titles and reached a career-high world ranking of No. 6 in 2016. He reached Grand Slam semifinals at the French Open in 2008 and at the U.S. Open in 2016.

But Monfils was perhaps more well-known for his artistry on the court. Even in his later years, he would run down balls that many younger players would not even attempt and display acrobatic moves on overheads and a deft touch at the net.

Monfils is married to Ukrainian tennis standout Elina Svitolina and the couple has daughter, Skai, who turns 4 on Thursday. REUTERS