Gael Monfils waves emotional farewell to Australian Open: ‘I’ve been very lucky’

Story byThe two time Australian Open quarter-finalist will be retiring at the end of the season ()Jamie BraidwoodTue, January 20, 2026 at 8:40 AM UTC·2 min readGael Monfils waved an emotional goodbye to the Australian Open as he was defeated by Dane Sweeny on his final appearance at the tournament before retirement. The 39-year-old Monfils, one of the sport’s great entertainers, is playing his final season on tour but lost in the opening round of the Australian Open to home qualifier Sweeny, the world No 182. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Frenchman first-round match against Sweeny was typical of some of Monfils’s recent battles at the grand slams, as he threatened a comeback with terrific shot-making despite struggling physically between points. Last year, Monfils became the oldest man to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open since Roger Federer, having beaten fourth seed Taylor Fritz, but he fell short against Sweeny, who won 6-7 (3), 7-5, 6-4, 7-5. Monfils was making his 20th appearance at the Australian Open, having made his main draw debut in 2005 after his first appearance in the juniors in 2003, and thanked the crowd, which included his wife and women’s No 12 Elina Svitolina, for an “amazing ride”.”My journey started in 2003 with you guys. Now we are in 2026 and somehow it is the finish line but, wow, thank you so much,” he told the crowd. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“I've got a lot of, a lot of great memories here. A couple of big battles, quarters, fourth round.