Jessica Pegula Gives Her Take on Gael Monfils’ Farewell Tour in 2026

Gael Monfils announced a few days ago that he will be retiring at the end of the 2026 season, particularly at the Paris Indoor Masters, which is his hometown tournament. The beloved ATP star’s announcement has received mixed reactions, and WTA star Jessica Pegula believes he will be stressed after each tournament farewell.

Some players often reveal that they will hang up their racket after a tournament or ahead of a season. Those who announce their retirement ahead of a season will receive a farewell ceremony in every tournament they play, most especially tournaments that they have won in the past and Grand Slam events.

Monfils, who has enjoyed a successful career on the ATP Tour that has lasted over two decades. The 39-year-old has been one of the most electric performers on the court and the fans’ favorite. He has won 13 ATP titles and reached a career-high ranking of World No.6 in 2016. Additionally, he made it to the fourth round of all the Grand Slam tournaments.

His best Grand Slam result came at the 2008 French Open and 2016 US Open, where he reached the semi-finals. This season, the Frenchman began by winning the Auckland Open, but since June he has been struggling on the court. In fact, he has not won a singles match since the Wimbledon Championships in June.

Ahead of Monfils’ final season on tour, Pegula was asked during her appearance on The Player’s Box Podcast how she feels about Monfils’ retirement announcement, because she had revealed earlier that she wouldn’t compete past the age of 35. The 31-year-old revealed that she would be stressed if each tournament gave her a farewell ceremony as she prefers to announce her own retirement in the second half of the year:

I feel like he is going to get a lot of good courts, bigger courts. It seems cool. I think with his personality it fits. I think it just depends on the person. I think a whole year of knowing that would stress me out. I maybe would do half a year, like the last half of the year if I did make an announcement. A full year is a lot. But I feel that is so him. He is going to put on a show every match he plays. I’m sure he will play a somewhat limited schedule.

Monfils’ last match was at the Chengdu Open, where he retired in the third set against Alexander Shevchenko due to injury in the first round. He has not featured in any match since then, ending his Asian swing campaign. He hopes to be back on the court during the European indoor tournaments.

Jessica Pegula fights past Hailey Baptiste to reach the third round of the Wuhan Open

Jessica Pegula opened her Wuhan Open campaign with a strong display, winning her fellow American Hailey Baptiste in three sets. Pegula had claimed the opening set without much hurdle, but her opponent regained full control in the second set to push the tie to a decider. It was in the third set that Pegula had to show her character and strength, winning 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(6) in two hours and 57 minutes.

Pegula revealed during her on-court interview that she was proud of her performance and the resilience she showed on the court. The former World No.4 added that her opponents showed fighting spirit in the match:

I don’t really know what to say about that match. It’s been brutal. I had match points, and then she started playing well. I think I just got a little tentative, and that’s all it takes sometimes for someone to come back. I’m really proud of myself for how I held it together, because I think I easily could’ve just collapsed. But I held tough, so yeah, that was a wild ride.

Pegula will now face Ekaterina Alexandrova in the round of 16 of the tournament. The 31-year-old entered the Wuhan Open just days after suffering a shocking defeat against Linda Noskova in the semi-finals of the China Open. She was the favorite to reach the final, but made some errors in the third set.

Also Read: Patrick Mouratoglou Slams Critics Claiming Jannik Sinner Faked His Struggles During Shanghai Masters

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