Exclusive: Gael Monfils reveals surprising post-tennis plans
Gael Monfils has revealed what he is hoping to do post-retirement from tennis, as the Frenchman looks to move away from the sporting world.
Monfils is currently at the Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) Grand Final in London, alongside Ugo Humbert, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Alexander Bublik, Jan-Lennard Struff, Alex de Minaur, Holger Rune and Andrey Rublev.
The 38-year-old confirmed his qualification to the Grand Final after winning the event in New York back in August, but Monfils has exclusively told Tennishead what his standout moment from the season has actually been.
“I’m just happy, you know, this year because I fulfilled my goal. My goal was to qualify in the Olympics Games,” said Monfils after reaching his home Olympics in Paris. “I’ve done it. Happy with that. Exactly. I was really happy with that. I’ve done, you know, I had this massive goal. I’ve done it, so I’m happy.”
Monfils is also looking ahead to beginning his 21st season on the ATP Tour, and has previewed who he believes are the biggest contenders for the Australian Open.
“Of course, Novak [Djokovic] is still a contender. Of course, Novak, Carlos [Alcaraz], Jannik [Sinner],” said Monfils. “I think all the top 10, you know, but let’s say if we want to pick the top two, would be of course Jannik and Carlos.”
There is a lot of conversation about Novak Djokovic going into the 2025 season, after the 24-time Grand Slam champion announced that he would have former rival Andy Murray as his new coach.
And Monfils has revealed his excitement for the new partnership, “He has Andy, you know, and I think it’s great for sports, it’s going to be great for him. I think we’re all looking forward to see how we will match all the time.”
He never liked retirement anyway. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/Ga4UlV2kQW
— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) November 23, 2024
Although the World No.55 is looking forward to the Djokovic-Murray pairing, it does not seem that coaching is in Monfils’ post-tennis plans, but instead the finance sector.
“It’s not planned like that. When I stop, I’m going to work in the financial world, you know, in a private bank,” said Gael Monfils. “So that’s more or less, that’s what I want to do.”
For now Monfils is very much still involved in tennis and begins his UTS Grand Final campaign this evening against the aforementioned Rublev.
READ MORE – UTS London Grand Final 2024 Preview: Everything you need to know about the star-studded event
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