French Open 2026: Gael Monfils, one of tennis' greatest showmen, exits Roland Garros for final time

Magician. Showman. Loved everywhere he goes. Those words, chosen by Elina Svitolina, Amelie Mauresmo and Felix Auger-Aliassime respectively, are a small selection of the tributes to one of tennis' greatest characters. Gael Monfils is not hanging up his racquet until the end of the season, but Monday proved to be a goodbye to his home Grand Slam and the major where he has enjoyed his greatest success, reaching the semi-finals in 2008 and a further three quarter-finals. In front of a packed crowd, the 39-year-old delivered a performance befitting his reputation. Down and out after two sets, he fought back to force a decider against world number 185 and fellow Frenchman Hugo Gaston, bringing the Court Philippe-Chatrier crowd to its feet and eliciting screams of delight with his selection of 'tweeners' and dogged chasing. Ultimately there would be no repeat of last year's epic fightback to win from two sets down against Hugo Dellien, with exhaustion getting the better of Monfils as he went down 6-2 6-3 3-6 2-6 6-0, but he bowed out with cheers of "Gael, Gael, Gael" ringing out around Roland Garros. Big-screen tributes followed from the likes of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokov