The former world No. 6 – who will be 40 years old when he hangs up his racquet in the professional game – announced his decision on social media.
“Now, after celebrating my 39th birthday just a month ago, I’d like to share that the year ahead will be my last as a professional tennis player,” he wrote.
“The opportunity to turn my passion into a profession is a privilege I have cherished during every match and moment of my 21-year career.”
Monfils took his place in the record books earlier this year when he became the oldest player to win an ATP Tour title.
That was ATP Tour title number 13 for Monfils, with his first coming in Poland in 2005.
After his maiden victory in Sopot, the Frenchman went on to lift trophies in Metz, Montpellier and Washington, among others. However, Grand Slam success has evaded him.
He has reached two major semi-finals to date but was beaten by Federer at Roland Garros in 2008 and Novak Djokovic at the 2016 US Open.
Monfils has struggled to maintain his early season form in the 2025 campaign and has been knocked out of his last four tournaments in the first round.
His most recent appearance came at the Chengdu Open, where he was forced to retire from his opening match against Alexander Shevchenko due to an ankle issue.
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Gael Monfils celebrates victory at the Auckland Classic
Image credit: Getty Images
With one more year to add more victories and trophies to his record, Monfils is not putting any pressure on himself to succeed before walking away from the sport.
“Though this game means the world to me, I am tremendously at peace with my decision to retire at the end of the 2026 tennis season,” he wrote. “Life is too short.
“Believe me when I say that I have no regrets. What I do have is the feeling that I have been lucky: insanely, stupidly lucky.”
“An exciting new generation of players is already here, and I hope they’ll enjoy their time on the court as much as I have for the last two decades.
“At the risk of sounding like a dad – which I am – it really does go by so fast.”
