The curtain call has come for another beloved tennis star: the veteran French player Gaël Monfils will retire at the end of the 2026 season, his 22nd year on the men’s tour. But while they were stifling three generations’ worth of tennis muscle, Monfils emerged as the era’s most dazzling performer. View image in fullscreen Gaël Monfils’s career highlight reel looks like something out of NBA Inside Stuff: tomahawking overheads, blind tweeners that clip the line, Rodman-esque full extension retrievals. View image in fullscreen Gaël Monfils plays a backhand at Roland Garros. View image in fullscreen Gaël Monfils’s résumé includes nearly 600 match victories, a career-best No 6 singles ranking and more than $24m in on-court earnings.