Tennis》Sentimental farewell despite severe marriage crisis Monfils’s retirement ceremony in Paris brought tears

Monfils. (AFP)

[Reporter Liang Weiming/Comprehensive Report] Although he suffered physical and mental trauma due to his marriage, and even left the competition early, "Tigger" Gael Monfils still found warmth in the familiar French capital. He was invited to attend the retirement ceremony specially organized by the Paris Men's Tennis Masters. He received blessings from his hometown fans. The scene was quite touching.

Monfils, who is extremely popular, originally planned to complete the "last dance" of his career at the home court of this ATP thousand-point indoor hard court competition. However, Ukrainian female tennis star Elina Svitolina recently announced the end of her five-year marriage without warning. This not only shocked the tennis world, but also dealt a huge blow to him, forcing him to end the end-of-season event early. However, the Paris Masters insisted on bidding farewell to Monfils and invited fellow stars such as Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gilles Simon, Richard Gasquet and Benoit Paire to accompany him, which made him feel warm.

"I won't hide it, this is a very difficult moment to say goodbye." The 40-year-old Monfils, who was famous for his outstanding athletic ability, extraordinary talent and exaggerated style in his heyday, won 13 tour singles championships and was ranked as high as No. 6 in the world. The charming Monfils said: "This world has given me the best thing. It’s you, my dear viewers. It’s not easy, but I really want to thank everyone. It’s been an extraordinary story that I could not have dreamed of being a tennis player for 22 years. I want to thank everyone, whether you are here or at home, because of you, I can achieve this dream.”

Finally, Monfils also spoke affectionately of his 4-year-old daughter, "Skai, your father is a tennis player. He loves tennis. He grew up in Paris and has countless passionate fans who support him. I sincerely hope that you can become a great champion no matter what you do, and I also hope that one day you can return to Paris to compete."