ROLAND GARROS

May 26, 2026

Gael Monfils

Press Conference

H. GASTON/G. Monfils

6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, 6-0

THE MODERATOR: First question in English for Gael.

Q. First of all, thank you for your gift of the tennis. I would like to know when you were 5-0 in the last set, and you were ready to serve and all of Philippe Chatrier was cheering for you, what were you thinking at that moment? You were still focused on the game or you were thinking in other things?

GAEL MONFILS: The first two points, yes, and then after, it start to be a little bit different. Of course, it was Love-30, start to realize obviously that need to stick with the scoreboard or it might be the last two points, so it was a little bit messy, let's say.

Q. First of all, I think you're a big inspiration. For example, you are the reason why I started watching tennis. How do you explain your feelings right now?

GAEL MONFILS: It's very strange, because, you know, somehow I try to really block my emotion, because it's really hard. It's very hard that deeply inside is very hard, so I really try to block them. I feel I will have a tough night tonight.

But, you know, it's a mixed feeling between happiness, sadness, and, you know, it's a lot of feelings, a lot of emotion. It's very hard to describe. Somehow I don't want to dig too deep yet, but it's not easy.

Q. On what turned out to be your final match, you showed incredible fight coming back in the third and fourth sets, and winning them in a dominant fashion. Given that you were struggling physically before, what helped you power through it and what was going through your mind and your heart today?

GAEL MONFILS: Somehow, when I step on the court, I was a little bit -- it was a new experience for me. Honestly, I'd say it was not a regular match, so I step on the court with, you know, feeling completely different. Hugo was playing great.

So I had to retake control of my mind, of my body, try to reconnect with myself, and then I think I start to hit a little bit better, strike better, be a bit more patient, have a better vision also of what I wanted to do, and push him a little bit through a tougher match.

Q. You have mentioned that it will be quite a tough night tonight. How do you think, how many time will it take to go through emotionally this moment to accept that the next year you will just support Elina and won't step on court? How will it be difficult to go through this moment? In a positive way, of course.

GAEL MONFILS: I already accept it, you know. When I announce that I stop, I think I already accept it, in a way.

It's going to be tough tonight, because all the nerves, all the preparation, I have been waiting for long for this moment somehow, and it was really long, because I haven't played much before, so it's more that, you know.

And then this, when it will get out, for sure it won't be that easy. But as I mention, you know, on the court, I will have great support at home with Elina, great support with my family.

I guess I be with her tonight. I might be with my daughter tomorrow. So everything will help me to feel better.

Q. Thank you for all the wonderful years of tennis. This is a big moment for you, having your final match at this tournament, but you also have fans all over the world and this is not your not final match of your career. Curious which tournaments you're hoping to play for the remainder of this year and how you think about, yeah, the final chapters that you want to have? I'm assuming finishing in Paris in the fall, but before that, which tournaments do you hope to play?

GAEL MONFILS: It's a great question, Ben. Great question, because with Nicolas, my agent, you know, he wants me to play many tournaments (laughter).

Obviously if I'm a bit, if a good student, we ask, I think he ask for wildcard in Wimbledon. So we wait and see for this one.

But I know there is a lot of things to that, so you know, and I feel like a lot of guys deserve it maybe more than me, so I wait and see. But hopefully Wimbledon. Then need to decide if we go to Washington or not. I think Dani offer us a wildcard. We need to see if we will accept it or not, change my plan with vacation with Elina, so I guess maybe she go vacation. (Laughter.)

Q. She can go to Washington.

GAEL MONFILS: Vacation for her (smiling).

I think we will ask also Montreal, hopefully. I want to say good-bye to Montreal. Then something is very unfortunate for me, but I really want to go back for the start of school of my daughter, first year she will go to school, so I will go back to Europe to be with her.

Obviously I will ask the French Federation to have the US Open wildcard. Hopefully I will have this one.

Then Asia is a bit blurry, to be honest. I don't know. Then the end of the year, I can tell you I will play Lyon, the new tournament. Nicolas wants me to play Vienna, and then obviously, hopefully, Paris.

Q. It was your 17th five-set match of all your career at Roland Garros. Is there any of them that takes the special top No. 1 place in your heart?

GAEL MONFILS: It's hard to really decide, but some were unbelievable, you know. Even win or lose, I can name some, you know, I really liked one I played with Cuevas, one I play with Ferrer, one I play with Fabio, one I play with Baez. Me, I have two back to back, I really loved, it was against Dick Norman and James Blake. It was amazing.

I have two amazing ones against Andy. My first win on the center court against Andy was five set. I lose to him in quarterfinal in five sets. I love them.

So, yeah, tough to tell you, honestly (smiling).

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. Gael, you talked about the emotions during this match. But what can you tell us about the most difficult aspect? Was it to concentrate or find your landmarks? What was the most difficult in your head, especially at the beginning of the match?

GAEL MONFILS: Well, actually, all of the preparation, actually, all of a sudden it's different. You go out on the court, the feeling is different, you feel good but you don't feel good both at the same time. It's very hard to explain, because when I went out on the court, I was not feeling as good as I felt five minutes before. So it's as if you want to do things too well. It puts you in a very tricky position.

You know, it's not really in the head, but for me it was more the way my body was feeling and the way I was moving around on the court. That's what was bothering the most.

Q. Gael, generally speaking in tennis, the end is a loss, so what you experienced this evening, is this what you had hoped for? Is it as beautiful as you imagined? Are you happy with what happened this evening and Thursday evening, as well? Is this how you imagined your last Roland?

GAEL MONFILS: Even in my craziest dreams, I could never have imagined that it would be like this. It was really exceptional. It was a crazy opportunity.

We imagine it without really imagining it, but, you know, between Thursday and this evening, what's been going on is really engraved in my memory. It's a tremendous opportunity. I was very lucky.

It's something that will forever be engraved in my heart.

Q. Congratulations for your career and for your speech. You often talk about your daughter and your family as something that you were missing in recent years on the circuit. What does your daughter understand about this? What do you say to her? What message does she bring back to you?

GAEL MONFILS: No, she doesn't really understand much, and that's beautiful. Yesterday evening I was saying to her, Well, dad's gonna play a match. If he finishes, he'll come home.

Joking, I said to her, Shall I come home tomorrow? And she said, Yes, yes, come home tomorrow. So she doesn't understand.

Honestly, we really try to protect her from all of that, because with Elina, we started off with principle that she will know later on. She knows that we play tennis. If you ask her, she says, Mom's a tennis player, Dad's a tennis player.

For example, in Rome, Elina was in the finals, I was watching, and she was going to and fro. It was very difficult to get her to concentrate on the match, because we've never really taught her to do this. She kept saying to me, Dad, let's go and play. I said, No, she's at breakpoint.

But it's beautiful, and it's good that she stays this way. It's funny because we talked about it after the event. I hadn't seen Elina's letter, which was absolutely beautiful, and I said to Elina, I have something that I think I will print and will let her read it when she's 10 or 11 years old, when she's ready. Before, maybe there's no point. And then at that point, she will probably realize who her father and mother were.

Q. Well done for your career, because you have made many people in this room dream. I have a question. You delivered a fantastic battle against Hugo. At the end of the match he said he felt a lot of joy but also a lot of sadness. I wanted to know what these words made you feel and what emotion did you feel this evening during this match?

GAEL MONFILS: I know that Hugo likes me a lot. We have a good laugh together. Hugo is somebody who, when he joined the tour with such a lot of energy, a great person, great personality. And recently we trained a lot together. So of course it was a little bit harder for him to put me to rest like that.

I was happy for him. And honestly, to lose against somebody who you like, that is really great. Now I hope that he will be able to rest and then really go for it, because he played really two very big sets at the beginning of the match, and so he played very well.

Q. You talked about your program that will take you to the end.

GAEL MONFILS: No, I'm not dreaming it; it's Nico who is dreaming it (smiling). So it's not that there won't be anything, but there will be other things.

Q. We imagine all French players generally stop at Bercy in La Defense, but La Defense is far away, and you have to keep up the level of your game, et cetera.

GAEL MONFILS: To answer your question before you finished it, and as I said, and why would it be easy. I have one wish: Why do I want to get to the States? Because I want to play until 40. Unfortunately, I was born in September. So that's it. That's the thing for me.

My wish is to be an athlete that plays until 40 years old. Nico says that he's locked me in until 40, maybe 40 years and a few days, let's see.

Q. Like Stan? Do everything like Stan till the end?

GAEL MONFILS: Yes. Stan is 41.

Q. Yes, you're finishing today, both of you, to the end.

GAEL MONFILS: Like Stan, like LeBron, like Cristiano, like Evra, like all of the athletes who have managed to continue their sport until the age of 40. And that's what I want to do. You know that whatever happens this summer, I'm locked in to train.

So of course clay court, I have had a lot of trouble on over the past three, four years, and, you know, to have a winning serves and free points, it's become more and more difficult. So a good American hard court will give me a helping hand.

Q. Good evening, Gael, and well done. Rafa Nadal, when he retired, said that beyond his game and what he wanted when asked to remember about him was that he was a great person. What do you want people to remember of you? Is it your spectacular game, your helicopter smashes, or the fact you don't have a single enemy on the circuit because you're such a nice guy?

GAEL MONFILS: Well, actually, quite honestly, I don't know. I think it's very subjective. People will remember what they want to remember, and I was myself from the beginning till the end.

I don't necessarily have anything in particular, but I think I want to be remembered as somebody who is joyful and warm, something like that.