Monfils Ends Roland Garros Career with Emotional First-Round Exit

Monfils falls to Gaston in five as Roland Garros farewell ends

The French veteran rallied from two sets down to force a decider before Gaston pulled away, as Monfils confirmed he will retire at season’s end.

Monfils thanked the Court Philippe Chatrier crowd, his family, and wife Elina Svitolina in an emotional farewell at Roland Garros...

Gael Monfils said goodbye to Roland Garros on Monday after falling in five sets to compatriot Hugo Gaston in the first round, just missing out on a comeback.

The 39-year-old former world No. 6 has been an entertaining and popular figure with fans and fellow players for the last two decades.

Like his longtime friend and rival Stan Wawrinka, who also lost in Paris earlier on Monday, Monfils will retire at the end of the current season.

A 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, 6-0 first-round loss to 25-year-old Gaston ended Monfils’ emotional farewell at his home Grand Slam.

“I love you so much,” Monfils told Court Philippe Chatrier, before thanking his family, entourage, and wife Elina Svitolina.

“Every year I come to play at Roland Garros, I have goosebumps... I'm going to miss you all, thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Down two sets, world No. 218 Monfils gave the packed centre court something to cheer about by breaking at 4-3 in the third set to keep his Roland Garros run alive.

Gaël Monfils has played his final match at Roland-Garros after falling to fellow Frenchman Hugo Gaston 🥺

The 39-year-old confirmed he'll retire at the end of the 2026 season after 22 years 🙏 pic.twitter.com/CnZNBGm9Gs

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 25, 2026

After holding serve, he broke world No. 118 Gaston immediately in the opening game of the fourth set, sending the night session crowd into cheers.

With his back against the wall, Monfils stormed through to force a decider, producing trademark shots that drew repeated gasps from the crowd.

Two forehand errors from Monfils handed a resurgent Gaston a 2-0 lead in the fifth, and the veteran’s momentum began to fade.

The momentum swung back to Gaston, and the left-hander moved through the final set to set up a second-round match with Argentina’s 25th seed Francisco Cerundolo.

“It was very hard,” Gaston said. “It's very weird the feeling, there's joy obviously, but sadness for Gael. I'm very sorry. I want to thank you for everything you've done for young players.”

The 4 musketeers are reunited on Court Philippe-Chatrier 🧡#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/Im2GrgP7KP

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 25, 2026