“I thought it would be insurmountable to come and say goodbye to you, looking you in the eyes,” Gael Monfils told the Paris crowd on Tuesday night, speaking in French during the farewell ceremony held in his honour at the Rolex Paris Masters.

The Frenchman did not hide the personal difficulties of the past months. “I went through a more complicated period personally,” he said, thanking tournament director Cédric Pioline and French Tennis Federation president Gilles Moretton for helping him “overcome all my fears, all my worries”.

The evening marked the official end of his career, after a season spent as a near-permanent farewell tour, especially since Roland-Garros in May. Monfils, who turned 40 during the US Open, is no longer a player about to retire: he is now retired, having gone all the way to his goal of playing until 40.

“I was able to sit down for a few weeks, I won’t hide it, weeks that were a bit more painful, but I was able to sit down and really look back at the images, to see what I was able to achieve,” he said. “I gave everything. I’m really happy, really at peace with everything I was able to do.”

The most touching moment came when he spoke about his daughter Skai, 4. “No, you’re not talking about me enough, Dad,” she had told him, before asking him why people came to say hello to him. He then told the rest of their exchange:

– Daddy is very kind, so you have to be very kind.
– I want to be very kind too. And I want to be a champion too.
– Skai, a champion of what?
– A champion of everything.
– You’ll have to choose, though.
– I’d like to be a champion of talking.
– Well, that’s a concept.
– I’d like to be a tennis champion.

He dedicated his “last lap of honour” to her. “Your dad was a tennis player, he loved tennis. I grew up in Paris, I had a magnificent crowd, and I hope with all my heart that you will be a champion of everything you set your mind to, and that one day you will play here in Paris.” He also pointed out that November 3 marked eight years since the start of his relationship with Skai’s mother, Elina Svitolina, from whom he recently separated.

Monfils was then joined on court by the other three “New Musketeers” of French tennis, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Richard Gasquet and Gilles Simon, of whom he was the last still playing. Benoît Paire and singer M. Pokora were also there, as “La Monf, la Monf, on est là pour toi, Paris chante avec toi” (“La Monf, la Monf, we’re here for you, Paris sings with you”) rang out.

A melancholy farewell, unlike Roland-Garros

Deep melancholy hung over the 15-minute ceremony, a contrast with his Roland-Garros farewell in May, which was longer, more intense and more energetic. Elegantly dressed in a light grey waistcoat and dark grey trousers, Monfils remained calm and composed throughout, as he had been at Porte d’Auteuil.

Pioline and Moretton welcomed him onto court as announcer Marc Maury listed his achievements, from his title as junior world champion to his 13 ATP titles. Monfils began with a lap of honour, before taking his place between the two men. A video then showed images of him at the Rolex Paris Masters, with the French Davis Cup team, as a junior at Roland-Garros and on the ATP Tour, before the crowd unveiled a giant “Merci Gaël” tifo.

I won’t hide from you that it’s a really difficult moment, saying goodbye to the most beautiful thing this earth could give us: you, this magnificent crowd

“Good evening Paris, thank you, that’s kind,” he began. “I won’t hide from you that it’s a really difficult moment, saying goodbye to the most beautiful thing this earth could give us: you, this magnificent crowd. Twenty-two years, 22 years now that I’ve been a professional tennis player, 22 years of an extraordinary story that I could never have really dreamed of.”

He also thanked his parents. His father was in the arena, his mother looking after his daughter. “We came to the Rolex for the first time in the 2000s, we watched matches, I played at the Rolex for the first time in 2004, and here we are in 2026,” he said. “So it’s thanks to you, Dad and Mum.”

Monfils in Paris: two finals, no title

Monfils played 11 editions of the tournament, with a record of 16 wins and 10 defeats. He reached the final twice in a row, losing to Novak Djokovic 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (3) in 2009, then to Robin Soderling 6-1, 7-6 (1) in 2010, after beating Roger Federer 7-6 (7), 6-7 (1), 7-6 (4) in the semi-finals.

His first win in Paris came in 2004, at the age of 18, against Thomas Enqvist, 1-6, 6-4, 6-3. His last match there was a 4-6, 7-6 (2), 7-5 defeat by Francisco Cerundolo in the first round in 2023.