French hero Gael Monfils and icon Stan Wawrinka set to receive wildcards for final French Open as Caroline Garcia also set to be recognised
ATPThursday, 16 April 2026 at 15:30
In an early riddle solved, the French Open have already confirmed today that they plan to honour the careers of Stan Wawrinka and Gael Monfils during the next edition.
In years gone by, wildcards for retiring names have been a conundrum and Wawrinka in particular has seen some wanting to give him his due and others fail to hand him a wildcard as often he has not hunted for them.
But with both himself and Monfils retiring this year, they will get that chance. Caroline Garcia who retired last year will also get a ceremony. The former WTA Finals champion will become a mother soon for the first time and is entering a new phase of her life but will get her send off.
“Stan Wawrinka, Gael Monfils and Caroline Garcia’s careers will be celebrated this year,” they said.
Monfils and Wawrinka set for send off
“Wawrinka and Monfils after their final match. Garcia, between the women’s singles semi-finals.”
Monfils also will in his style get his own party on Court Philippe-Chatrier with DJ Martin Solveig who famously made the song Hello which featured Monfils in the video with Novak Djokovic in a fictional tennis match featuring both him and fellow famous French DJ Bob Sinclar. Franglish and also Matt Pokora on May 21st presumably also featuring other top tennis names no doubt such as his wife Elina Svitolina either involved or at least in attendance.
While in other new Prize Money is up 9.53% compared with 2025 to almost £62m. So albeit Dominic Thiem for instance wasn't celebrated, Wawrinka and Monfils it appears have seen the decision already made and they will get their flowers later this year in Paris.
It will be interesting to see now like Thiem's final year whether Wawrinka in particular gets a further send off at Wimbledon and the US Open or whether this is his big send off during the Grand Slam year for his final stand. Presumably he will also get his send off at Swiss Indoors Basel later this year and further home tournaments on a more localised basis.
Wawrinka's final season in Numbers
| Tournament | Tier | Performance | Match wins |
| United Cup | United Cup | Finalist | 1 (Arthur Rinderknech) |
| Australian Open | Grand Slam | Third round | 2 (Laslo Djere, Arthur Gea) |
| Open Occitanie | ATP 250 | Second round | 1 (Hamad Medjedovic) |
| Rotterdam Open | ATP 500 | Second round | 1 (Thijs Boogaard) |
| Dubai Tennis Championships | ATP 500 | Second round | 1 (Benjamin Hassan) |
| Napoli Challenger | Challenger | First round | 0 |
| Monte Carlo Masters | Masters 1000 | First round | 0 |
| Barcelona Open | ATP 500 | First round | 0 |
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
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