Gaël Monfils bows out in Grand Slam at the US Open

Farewell on his favorite stage of the ATP circuit. Gaël Monfils bowed out at the highest level of world tennis and played the last Grand Slam match of his career after his defeat in the second round of the US Open against the American Learner Tien (6-3, 6-4, 6-3), on the night of Thursday September 3 to Friday September 4. “I wanted to stay a little longer but I really gave everything, I even think I went beyond what I could,” the Habs said at a press conference after the match.

There will obviously be his final farewell at home in Paris on the occasion of the Masters 1000 in the capital, but the final image he leaves in the Grand Slam will remain this evening on the Louis-Armstrong court where, like a symbol, he won one last time an audience won over to his cause despite the nationality of his opponent and enchanted a tournament with which he has always had a special relationship.

“I felt the best at the US Open”

“It’s really the second place where I feel extremely good after France,” he confided before the start of the fortnight. "The crowd every time is extraordinary. Full of incredible matches. Always stories. The conditions meant that, throughout my career, it was at the US Open that I felt the best." After his victory in the first round against the Paraguayan Adolfo Daniel Vallejo, already on a Louis-Armstrong court in the shape of a cauldron, he confided all his affection for a "very special" New York audience, which made the "atmosphere electric, incredible": "I feel great here, I try to put on great tennis and a nice show."

In New York, in the country of his “idol” Arthur Ashe, Monfils the electric was immediately popular. "For me, it was incredible. My first time here [for the junior tournament in 2003] was my second time in America, so it was crazy; it reminded me exactly of what I saw in the NBA, because I watched more NBA than tennis. I could see a different energy and culture. I was amazed and I knew I would love this country," he recalled in 2025 on the ATP website. “I knew right away that this was a tournament I would like to play in.”

Year after year, on site, the Frenchman created his habits. He took up residence near Central Park, where he trained for a long time, and made the Arthur-Ashe court his “favorite”, where it is “always special to play”. He celebrated a few birthdays there, too; just this year for his 40th birthday, celebrated on the court the day he entered the running, and with a cake brought to a press conference.

A semi-final and epic matches

He offered his explosive game and built his love story with the public, who quickly nicknamed him "the man of the night" for his always remarkable performances during night sessions. "Gaël has always been close to the public. He's one of the fans' favorites," Craig Tiley, president of the American Tennis Federation (USTA), assures L'Equipe. "He brings a lot of excitement and entertainment to the game, and that's sometimes what's missing. That's why we will miss him when he officially retires."

It was also on the grounds of Flushing Meadows that he signed some of the most beautiful matches of his career, like his Homeric quarter-final against Roger Federer in 2014. After leading two sets to nothing against the Swiss, then number 3 in the world, he obtained two match points in the fourth set, before giving in in a "five set thriller" - in the words of the organization -, in 3h20 of play, and with immense regrets.

There was no feat or final, but a final four against Novak Djokovic in 2016, one of his two semi-finals and best performances in the Grand Slam (with Roland-Garros 2008). And two additional quarter-finals, in 2010 against the Serbian future finalist, and in 2019 against a promising Matteo Berrettini.

Mixed doubles with Elina Svitolina for her last

As a last gift before the separation, the US Open allowed him to add this year a new chapter in an already accomplished career, by competing in the mixed doubles tournament, just reinvented, alongside his wife Elina Svitolina. This was their first association in an official match on the circuit.

While Monfils had never made it past the second round in a men's doubles or mixed Grand Slam tournament, the pair reached the semi-finals, knocking aside the pair of world No. 1s along the way. “It’s a great honor, to be honest, to play together for the first and last time,” he said during the adventure. “It’s something that we will keep with us forever.”