"Announcing my retirement to my father, that was really the hardest part…" - Monfils shares how his father took heartbreaking retirement news

Gael Monfils announced back on October 1 that the 2026 campaign would be his final one competing on the court. It was a tough pill to swallow for not just tennis fans, but for the Frenchman's father as he unveiled how hard it was to break the truth to him.

It has been an illustrious career for Monfils. He has been competing at the top level for over two decades, commencing his professional career in 2004 - when world number one Carlos Alcaraz was not even a year old. He has competed alongside some of the greats, seeing them come and go as he ploughed on.

At the astonishing age of 39-years-old, Monfils has finally decided that enough is enough, and that 2026 will be his final one in the sport. In a touching tribute video involving the '4 Musketeers' - Monfils, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Richard Gasquet and Gilles Simon, he confirmed that the end was just around the corner, in a piece of news that while expected considering his age was a sad thing to hear for his fans all around the world.

"I've been thinking about it for quite some time. I'm finally ready to say goodbye to this sport that has given me everything," he commented on RTL radio. "I still love tennis. But now it's more about age, recovery. I have a family now, other responsibilities. Performances are much harder to string together. These are simply natural things for any athlete. At some point, there is an end."

In a sense, it was a no-brainer for Monfils to retire. He had started to slow up with more injury problems and fitness concerns, withdrawing from more matchups. This has resulted in him competing on the tour less, being more picky in the events he chooses to participate in. Adding to that, he has more than his tennis career to focus on. Married to fellow tennis player Elina Svitolina, the pair have a young daughter, with Monfils wanting to put his energy and time into his family.

Speaking of family, he disclosed how hard it was to break the news to his father, Rufin. The duo share a very close relationship, with Rufin Monfils going out of his way to support and preserve his son's tennis career, sharing advice and strength throughout the two decades he spent on the court. He had devoted so much energy to this cause that it would be a tricky scenario to tell him that it was culminating.

"For 40 years, my father has been driven by his son who wanted to play tennis from a very young age," he states. "Announcing my retirement to my father, that was really the hardest part… I even told him that it wasn’t easy to tell him.” However, despite the news Rufin 'understood very quickly' about his son's choice, knowing that it was not the love of the sport drifting away.

Monfils has just one more year to show the world what he is about. The two-time Grand Slam semi-finalist has recorded a career-high 6th in the world back in November 2016. At the start of 2025, he became the oldest ATP Tour champion as he stormed to success in the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand.

He will be making a highly anticipated return to the event, along with Svitolina, which will commence from January 5-11. Ahead of that, the couple are set to enter the fray for Team France in the Bourg-de-Peage Open later today before traversing to India to ramp up their preparations for 2026 in the World Tennis League, being played from December 17-20.