Gael Monfils has a very big job on his hands after becoming France’s Davis Cup captain.

Monfils retired from tennis in 2026, but it has not taken long for the Frenchman to find his latest role in the sport.

He has replaced Paul-Henri Mathieu and he will be looking to win the Davis Cup for France for the first time in 2017, but they did not even qualify for the Finals this year.

There has been a slight backlash about Monfils’ appointment, due to his inexperience as a coach, but Gilles Simon has backed the decision.

Simon, who is currently the head of performance for the FFT (France Federation Tennis), said: “But honestly, when you think about it, if you want to bring a huge wave of freshness and shine a huge spotlight on the Davis Cup, I think it will bring a lot.

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“It’s not as if he left the tour a long time ago. He knows absolutely every player, foreign and French alike. So if the question is whether he’ll be up to date with what’s going on, of course he will.

“The French team means a great deal to him. He has answered the call an enormous number of times. He was often there when we played the finals. He performed at a level in the Davis Cup that I never saw any other player of my generation reach.”

France do not have the biggest stars in the world currently, which has led to their relatively poor performances over the years since winning the tournament in 2017.

Monfils will be able to pick from the likes of Corentin Moutet, Quentin Halys, Ugo Humbert, Arthur Fils, and Luca Van Assche, but only one players, Fils, is currently ranked inside the top 10.

The rest of France’s players are ranked outside the top 30 of the rankings, so it will be difficult for them to compete against the likes of Spain, Italy, and Czech Republic at the very top of the tournament.

Nevertheless, Monfils has an impressive record for France at the Davis Cup that he will be looking to replicate as a coach.

He retired with a 12-3 win-loss record for France in singles action and he reached the final of the tournament during the 2014 season.

Monfils and France lost 3-1 to Switzerland in the final, but that one point was earned when the Frenchman stunned Roger Federer in a three-set contest, so he knows what it takes to perform at the very top of the Davis Cup.