Gael Monfils bows out: Paris Masters stages farewell to a 22-year career

Gael Monfils' 22-year professional career was formally marked at the Paris Masters on Tuesday, with organisers staging a ceremony in place of the farewell appearance he had originally planned, Independent Sport reported.

The Frenchman had intended to bow out with one last run in the Paris draw, but he quietly stepped away from the tour last month, appearing on the International Tennis Integrity Agency's inactive list without explanation amid the breakdown of his marriage to Ukrainian player Elina Svitolina.

In his absence from the court, tournament organisers brought together a roll call of Monfils' compatriots and fellow entertainers - Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gilles Simon, Richard Gasquet and Benoit Paire - to honour him in front of the Paris crowd.

Addressing supporters, the 40-year-old admitted the occasion was painful. "I'm not going to hide that this is a very difficult moment to say goodbye," he said, adding: "Twenty-two years now that I've been a professional tennis player. Twenty-two years of an extraordinary story that ‌I could have never dreamed of."

He went on to thank those who had followed him "whether they're here or at home," telling the crowd: "it's because of you that I could realise my dream."

The ceremony followed a turbulent few weeks away from competition. Svitolina's initial announcement of the split was branded "brutal" by some observers, according to Tennis365, prompting a backlash against the Ukrainian player that Monfils himself tried to calm by posting a message urging critics not to turn on his estranged wife.

Monfils had announced his immediate retirement in the aftermath of the split.

On the same day as his Paris send-off, Svitolina posted a markedly warmer message of her own on Instagram, recalling how their friendship began. "Gael, I've been lucky enough to know you since I was 14 years old. And the way our friendship started still makes me laugh," she wrote, going on to recall meeting him in the cafeteria at Wimbledon.

Monfils' retirement, alongside that of Stan Wawrinka, leaves a gap at the top of the men's game for the kind of showmanship that defined both careers, Yahoo Sports noted. Carlos Alcaraz and Arthur Fils were cited among the younger players most likely to keep that flair alive on tour, with Fils - also French - singled out for sharing Monfils' ability to excite a crowd, despite a run of injuries interrupting his progress.