Gael Monfils Reflects on his Approach Towards Social Media Insults After a Defeat

Gael Monfils lost the opening round of the Mubadala Citi DC Open to qualifier Wu Yibing in straight sets

Gael Monfils Reflects on his Approach Towards Social Media Insults After a Defeat

Gael Monfils (image via New York Post)

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Quite a few tennis players continue playing into their late 30s and beyond – such as the likes of Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka, Gael Monfils and Venus Williams. It’s not easy and they perhaps might not win a title at this age but it is their love for the sport and their spirit of not giving up too soon that gives them the motivation to continue. Players intuitively know when it is the right time to call quits.

However, before they are able to make that decision for themselves they are often surrounded by immense pressure and scrutiny to hang up their racquets. 38-year-old Monfils opened up about the criticism he received after losing the opening round of the Mubadala Citi DC Open to qualifier Wu Yibing in straight sets. Speaking to the media after the defeat, the Frenchman remarked:

The truth is that reading those messages doesn’t affect me because I try to focus on all the positive things in my life. When people tell me that I played poorly, that I’m finished and should stop playing tennis, of course I also think that, maybe I’m finished. But one doesn’t give up after a defeat like this. On the contrary, I will seek solutions with more intensity…

Yibing cruised past Monfils with a scoreline of of 6-3, 6-1 on Tuesday. While both held serve initially, in the sixth game, Monfils committed two straight double faults and Wu broke him for a 4-2 lead. Monfils’s unforced errors persisted in the ninth game before Wu clinched the set 6-3.The second set was more one-sided as at 1-1, Yibing went on to win the next five games and grab his first ATP match win of the season. Monfils further added:

Honestly, I don’t understand the people who send those messages. The one most bothered by a defeat is me; I get furious with myself because I think, why am I here when I could be enjoying time with my daughter and wife on vacation?

The defeat in Washington marked the fourth time this year that the World No. 48 has exited after the opening round of a tournament. Earlier in the year, Monfils ended a 14-month title drought by clinching his 13th ATP title in Auckland. Monfils will next be seen in action at the Canadian Open in Toronto.

Wu Yibing’s impressive strides in Washington

Wu Yibing faced World No. 24 Alexei Popyrin in the second round of the Mubadala Citi DC Open and defeated him with a scoreline of 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 in two hours and 37 minutes. With this win, the Chinese notched his first top-25 victory since overcoming Nick Kyrgios in Stuttgart in June 2023.

Wu Yibing Washington Open 2025
Wu Yibing (image via Mubadala Citi DC Open)

The 25-year-old then faced eighth seed Daniil Medvedev in the Round of 16. However, the Russian was in compete control throughout the match as he didn’t give his opponent the slightest opening. Medvedev didn’t face a single break point, sealing the win in just 1 hour and 9 minutes with a scoreline of 6-3, 6-2.

He will next face lucky loser Corentin Moutet in the quarterfinals in Washington. It marks Medvedev’s eighth quarter-final of the season – a promising return to consistency as the tour progresses into its final stretch on hard courts. The winner of this quarterfinal match will meet either Alex de Minaur Or Brandon Nakashima in the semifinal.

For Yibing, his Washington campaign marked a rather remarkable run, as he made some impressive strides after missing almost three years due to persistent physical issues following an elbow, lower back, shoulder and wrist injuries.

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