Gael Monfils has consistently been one of the most fun players to watch since he turned pro nearly 20 years ago. He is a born showman who has a well-rounded game and a devastatingly powerful forehand.
He was ranked as high as #6 in the world and has won 11 titles. At 36 years old and with a history of injuries, the Frenchman’s career is slowly coming to an end. He is currently ranked #322 in the world. As his spectacular career winds down, we thought it would be fun to do a player profile and celebrate him.
Credit: TENNIS PHOTO NETWORK
ATP Debut At Just 17 Years Old
Gael was born in Paris where he grew up. His father is originally from Guadeloupe, while his mother is from Martinique. He turned pro and made his debut on the ATP tour in 2004 when he was only 17 years old.
Monfils had his first opportunity to compete with some of the best players in the world at the 2004 Open de Moselle. “La Monf”, which is one of his nicknames, was eliminated in the quarterfinals by another legend of French tennis, Richard Gasquet.
Monfils’ other nickname is Sliderman due to how he effortlessly slides around the court.
His first ATP 1000 Masters event was at the 2004 Paris Masters. Monfils lost in the second round to the celebrated Australian, Leyton Hewitt. Already in his first year as a professional, he made huge progress on the ATP rankings, moving from #925 to #239.
Monfils managed to break into the top 50 a year later, and then cracked the top 25 all while still a teenager. He won his first ATP title in Poland at the Idea Prokom Open in 2005, defeating Florian Mayer in the final.
11 Titles, Two Major Semi-Finals
Monfils has won 11 titles during his 19-year career. “La Monf” won his first title on clay and the next 10 on hard court. Gael won almost half of his titles in Montpellier and Rotterdam, as he was champion three times in the French city, and twice in the Dutch port. His most recent victory was in 2022 at the Adelaide International tournament.
Monfils did not have much success in the biggest tournaments. Monfils never managed to win an ATP 1000 event. He played in the finals three times at ATP 1000 tournaments. Twice he reached the finals at the Paris Masters.
First, in 2009, he was defeated by Novak Djokovic 6-2, 5-7, 6-7. A year later he was defeated by Robin Soderling two sets 6-1, 7-6(1). Monfils last played the final of an ATP 1000 tournament against Rafael Nadal in 2016 at the Monte Carlo Masters when he was defeated in three sets 7-5,5-7,6-0.
At the Grand Slams, he similarly never had great success. He advanced to the semifinals at two Grand Slam events, the 2008 French Open and the 2016 U.S. Open. Roger Federer defeated Monfils the at the 2008 French Open and Novak Djokovic defeated him at the 2016 U.S. Open.
The controversy came due to Monfils soft balling many shots and appearing that he was not giving the match his all. As a result, Monfils was jeered by the crowd and criticized by John McEnroe, who claimed that he was “unprofessional”.
Novak Defeated Monfils 18 Times
During his nearly two-decade-long career, Gael managed to beat Nadal twice and Federer four times. However, he was never able to beat Djokovic.
One of the more interesting facts from the career of Gael Monfils is that he lost all 18 matches against Novak Djokovic. They met for the first time in 2005, when Novak defeated Gael in five sets at the start of the US Open. Their most recent match was at the ATP Masters in Madrid in 2022.
Personal Life: Married To A Professional Tennis Player
Gael Monfils married fellow professional tennis player Elina Svitolina in 2021.
Credit: WTA Tour
They welcomed their first child, a daughter named Skai, in 2022. Elina, from Ukraine, has had more success than Gael in the last several years, and she achieved her best ranking in September 2017 when she was ranked #3 in the world. Like Monfils, Elena has suffered from recent injuries.
Another interesting fact is that both Monfils and Svitolina have each won $21MM in prize money in their respective careers.
