"Hopefully not next year": Monfils wants to play mixed doubles 'once' with wife Elina Svitolina before retirement

French tennis star Gael Monfils has stated that he is ‘hopeful’ of playing mixed doubles with his wife Elina Svitolina before retiring.

The 36-year-old has been very vocal about the prospect of him leaving the sport in the near future.

While talking about it, Monfils expressed his desire to play mixed doubles next year before calling it quits.

“Why not play once?,” he said. “It’s tough for me to play singles & doubles. But I feel like when it will be the end, I’ll try to double up. Hopefully it’s not next year.”

Despite all the talent he had, many believe that Monfils has never managed to achieve the things that he could’ve because of multiple reasons.

The Paris-born never managed to win any Grand Slam in his career despite turning pro back in 2004.

His best outing in any of the mega events was playing in the semifinal of the French Open in 2008 — where he lost to former world number one Switzerland’s Roger Federer with a score of 6-2, 5-7, 6-3, 7-5 — and later in the US Open in 2016 — when he came second-best against current world number two Serbia’s Novak Djokovic with a score of 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.