Legendary French tennis player Gaël Monfils, husband of Ukraine's world No. 1 Elina Svitolina, has reached the home stretch of his 23-year professional career. At the 2026 US Open, he played his final match in a Grand Slam tournament. This is reported by Sport RBC.UA, citing the press service of the American major. Reaching the second round and then losing became not just a sporting event for the veteran, but an emotional conclusion to an entire era in world tennis.
The road to a career finale on the majors
In the second round of US Open 2026, Monfils, who was then ranked 311th in the ATP rankings and had received a wildcard from the organizers, lost to the world No. 15, Learner Tien of the United States. The match lasted 2 hours and 18 minutes and ended in a three-set victory for the American — 6:3, 6:4, 6:3. Despite the defeat, it was precisely this match that became the Frenchman's farewell on Grand Slam courts, closing out 23 years of continuous professional activity.
The record of the 40-year-old veteran
Monfils began his tournament run on his 40th birthday — September 1 — by beating Paraguayan Adolfo Daniel Vallejo in the first round. Thanks to this victory, Gaël entered the history books as the oldest tennis player since 1992 to win a match at the US Open. This fact underscored the already symbolic nature of his appearance: the veteran proved that he was still capable of competing at the highest level even a quarter of a century after the start of his career.
A ceremonial farewell on court
Immediately after the match against Tien ended, the organizers held a ceremonial event on court: the veteran was presented with a commemorative photograph, and a touching video featuring the brightest moments of his career was shown on the big screen. During the final on-court interview, the Frenchman could not hold back his emotions and thanked the fans for years of support. "I first came here in 2003 — back then to take part in a junior tournament. And here I am in 2026. It has been a long journey. It has been a huge honor to play in front of you all these years. I tried my best to show the highest level of tennis and to put on a real show for you. I will never forget this," said Monfils.
Career finale: Paris in November
According to the tournament's press service, the last professional tournament in the career of the former world No. 6 will be the ATP 1000 series event in Paris in early November, after which Gaël will fully retire from competition. Over his long career, he recorded nearly 600 wins and reached the semifinals of Grand Slam tournaments twice. Thus, US Open 2026 became not the absolute finale of his journey, but a farewell specifically to the majors — before the final chord in Paris.
