Gaël Sébastien Monfils (; born 1 September 1986) is a French professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 6, by the ATP, achieved in November 2016. Monfils has won 13 ATP Tour singles titles, out of 35 finals contested. His best singles results at the majors are two semifinals, at the 2008 French Open and the 2016 US Open.
Monfils was named the ATP Newcomer of the Year in 2005. He reached at least one ATP Tour singles final every year for 19 consecutive seasons from 2005 to 2023, and is one of five players in the Open Era to do so for 19 or more seasons. He is also eighth among active players with over 550 career match wins. In 2025, Monfils became the oldest ATP Tour champion since the Tour's establishment in 1990.
Early life Gaël Sébastien Monfils was born on 1 September 1986 in Paris, where he was raised. His father, Rufin Monfils, is from Guadeloupe and is a former pro football player and France Telecom employee. His mother, Sylvette Cartesse, is from Martinique and worked as a nurse.
Career 2002–2004: Juniors Monfils played his first junior match in January 2002 at the age of 15 at a grade 4 tournament in Sweden. Through his 2002–2004 junior career, he compiled a singles win–loss record of 83–22, reaching the No. 1 junior combined world ranking in February 2004. Over the course of the same year, he won the boys' singles titles at the Australian Open, the French Open and Wimbledon. He was also crowned International Tennis Federation youth world champion. His win streak at junior majors ended at the US Open with a third-round loss to Viktor Troicki. Also in 2002, Monfils finished runner-up at the Dutch Junior Open and won the German Junior Open. He ended the year ranked as the No. 4 junior in the world and also represented France in the Junior Davis Cup.
In 2003, Monfils got off to a positive start and earned his first career ATP point at the France Futures No. 13 by reaching the second round. He also reached the second round at the France Futures No. 14, Egypt Futures No. 2 and the Spain Futures No. 28. In that year, he played a total of nine Futures events. This included a showing in the doubles final at the Spain Futures No. 27. In junior events, he was a finalist at Orange Bowl (losing to Marcos Baghdatis) and USTA International4 Winter Championships (losing to Sebastian Rieschick). He reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open juniors tournament (losing to Florin Mergea) and won the doubles title at the Victorian Junior Championships (with Josselin Ouanna). He was No. 21 in the junior rankings at the end of the year.
In 2004, the French teenager finished as the world's No. 1 junior, winning the first three of four junior Grand Slam events (Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon). He improved his ATP Entry Ranking by over 700 positions. In October, he made his ATP debut as a wildcard entrant at the Moselle Open in Metz and, after winning his first ATP match against Xavier Malisse, reached the quarterfinals in which he lost to countryman Richard Gasquet. He qualified for the 2004 Paris Masters and reached the second round, beating former Top 10 player Thomas Enqvist before falling to world No. 3, Lleyton Hewitt. He won junior titles at the Australian Open, French Open (defeating Alex Kuznetsov) and Wimbledon. He did not drop a set in Australia and lost one set each at the French Open and Wimbledon. He reached the third round at the US Open (losing to Viktor Troicki). He also won the LTA International Junior Championship in Roehampton (defeating Andy Murray). He was the runner-up at the Australian Hardcourt Junior Championships (losing to Mischa Zverev) and was 31–2 in junior events. In April, he reached his first Futures final at the Italy Futures No. 4. A week later, he won his first title at the Great Britain Futures No. 1 (defeating Alex Bogdanović). He reached the quarterfinals of the Grenoble Challenger. He went 14–6 in Futures and 3–5 in Challengers in 2004.
In doubles, Monfils reached the final at the France Futures No. 7 (with Ouanna). He reached the semifinals at the Australian Open and the quarterfinals at the French Open (with Ouanna).
Junior Grand Slam performance – Singles Australian Open: W (2004) French Open: W (2004) Wimbledon: W (2004) US Open: 3R (2004)
Junior Grand Slam performance – Doubles Australian Open: SF (2004) French Open: QF (2004) Wimbledon: A (-) US Open: A (-)
2004: Turned pro, ATP Tour debut and quarterfinal Monfils officially turned pro in 2004 at the age of 17. He solely played ITF Futures events from early 2003 to mid 2004 winning two titles.
Monfils made his ATP Tour debut at the 2004 Open de Moselle after receiving a wildcard into the main draw, where he defeated 2nd seed Xavier Malisse in the first round for his first ever tour win. He followed this up with another victory over Olivier Patience in the second round to reach the quarterfinals where he lost to fellow wildcard and junior and eventual finalist Richard Gasquet, in straight sets. Three weeks later, he qualified for the 2004 Paris Masters, his first Masters 1000 tournament. There, he defeated fellow qualifier and former world No. 4, Thomas Enqvist, in the first round before losing in the second round to second seed and world No. 3, Lleyton Hewitt, in straight sets.
Monfils ended 2004 with a year-end ranking of world No. 239, a remarkable jump from his ranking of No. 925 at the start of the year.
2005: First ATP Tour title After having turned pro the previous year, the young Frenchman then made one of the biggest moves into the top 50 from the previous season, climbing 200 ranking spots and capturing his first ATP title whilst also reaching two additional finals. In the first six months, he won Challenger titles in Besançon and Tunis, defeating Christophe Rochus and Fabrice Santoro, respectively. He would then reach the fourth round at the Miami Masters during this time (losing to Dominik Hrbatý), as well as the third round of Wimbledon, before losing to Mario Ančić. Monfils compiled a 10–14 record in ATP Tour-level play and 12–1 in Challengers through July.
In the last three months, he went 15–8, highlighted by his first career clay title at the Sopot Open, defeating Florian Mayer in the final. Monfils then struggled with a 2–5 mark, before reaching the final in two of the last three indoor tournaments of the season, both in his native country in Metz (losing to Ivan Ljubičić) and Lyon (losing to Andy Roddick). He went 11–4 in tie-breaks and 1–2 vs. top 10 opponents, defeating world No. 10, Gastón Gaudio, in his first match of the season in Doha. Monfils compiled records of 12–10 on hard courts, 6–7 on clay, 5–2 on carpet and 2–3 on grass. He finished the year as the No. 3 Frenchman, behind only world No. 16, Richard Gasquet, and world No. 26, Sébastien Grosjean.
2006: Top 25 In his first tournament of 2006, Doha, he reached the final, but lost in two sets to world No. 1, Roger Federer. In a surprising event in Las Vegas, there was a paddle tennis tournament held by the Tennis Channel. Monfils was given a wildcard into the doubles event, but became more interested and inquired about getting a singles wildcard into the main draw. However, he received an entry into the qualifying singles (which he won). Monfils competed in the main draw of this paddle tennis tournament and surprised everyone when he ousted world No. 1 paddle tennis player Scott Freedman and eventually went on to win the whole tournament.
In May, Monfils reached the semifinals of the Rome Masters, before losing to eventual champion Rafael Nadal, in straight sets. En route to the semifinals, Monfils defeated former world No. 1, Andy Roddick. He then entered the Hamburg Masters event, where he lost in straight sets to fellow teenager Andy Murray in the first round. After that, he faced Murray once more, this time in the first round of the French Open. After a tough five–set battle, Monfils emerged victorious. Monfils then proceeded to play Belgian Dick Norman in the second round. Once again, the match went to five sets, and Monfils got the better of his opponent. He then faced his toughest opponent yet, American James Blake. Blake was the favourite for the win, as the eighth seed, while Monfils was seeded 25th. However, Monfils defeated Blake in another five-set match. He described this run as a marathon. Blake said of Monfils that 'he was the fastest man on the tour'. The fourth round was Monfils' last, as he lost to Novak Djokovic in straight sets.
As a result of his progress at the French Open, Monfils moved up five positions to reach a then career high of No. 23. This also made him the number-one player in France, two positions ahead of Sébastien Grosjean. Monfils then entered the Stella Artois Championships, where he won his first-round match against Jürgen Melzer. He then played the American Bobby Reynolds and won in straight sets. His third-round encounter with Ivan Ljubičić was the third time he faced the world No. 4. Monfils triumphed in straight sets. His quarterfinal draw was with James Blake, whom he had met earlier at the French Open. This time Blake succeeded. After having lost a set, Monfils retired as a result of a back injury. This injury effectively ruled him out of the Nottingham Open the following week.
At Wimbledon, Monfils suffered a surprising first-round exit when defeated by Igor Kunitsyn. Monfils won the first set, but ended up losing the next three.
2007: 50 career singles wins At the 2007 Australian Open, Monfils lost to his compatriot Richard Gasquet in the third round in four sets. Monfils had a good run in Poertschach as a warm-up for the French Open, but lost in the final against Juan Mónaco of Argentina in straight sets. He lost in the third round of the French Open to David Nalbandian in a four-set match. At Wimbledon, Monfils reached the third round without dropping a set, where he lost to Nikolay Davydenko, the sixth seed, in straight sets. In July, Monfils made it to the semifinals of the 2007 Legg Mason Tennis Classic, before losing to American John Isner in three tiebreaks. Monfils withdrew from the 2007 US Open with a hamstring injury. He also was forced to withdraw from the 2008 Australian Open due to the same injury.
2008: French Open semifinals
At the 2008 French Open, Monfils reached a semifinals berth for the first time at any Grand Slam, becoming the first Frenchman to reach the semifinals since 2001. Monfils was defeated by top seed Roger Federer in four sets. A shoulder injury forced Monfils to withdraw from Wimbledon shortly before he was due to play his first-round match. Monfils was selected by France to play at the Olympics in Beijing, where he lost to third seed Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals. At the 2008 US Open, Monfils lost in the fourth round to Mardy Fish in straight sets, after having previously defeated former world No. 3 David Nalbandian, also in straight sets. At the Thailand Open, Monfils reached the semifinals, losing to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in two sets. Monfils lost in the final of the BA-CA Tennis Trophy in straight sets to Philipp Petzschner in the final.
2009: Top 10, second ATP Tour title and first Masters final
Monfils played his first tournament at the Qatar Open and caused a two-set upset in the quarterfinals against Rafael Nadal. Monfils lost to finalist Andy Roddick in three sets, after being up a break in the first set and losing it. At the 2009 Australian Open, Monfils lost to fellow Frenchman Gilles Simon in the fourth round, retiring due to a wrist injury. At the Abierto Mexicano, Monfils lost in the final to Nicolás Almagro. Monfils competed at the Monte Carlo Masters, losing in the first round to Janko Tipsarević in straight sets.