Monfils addressed the crowd in his native French, but commentator Mikey Perera translated for viewers watching on the World Feed. “Thanks to you. It’s not an easy moment for me. Thanks to the Parisian public,” the former world No. 6 said.

“I’d like to thank you for 22 years of my career being a professional player. 22 great years that I couldn’t have possibly dreamed of. I want to thank all of you here. It’s thanks to you that I’ve been able to realise the dreams of those 22 years.”

The 13-time title winner also paid tribute to his coaches and others who had been involved in his career, adding: “These past few weeks have been hard for me. When I see pictures of what I’ve accomplished, I always tried my best. I’m very at peace with what I’ve done. I’ve said, Wow, what a road I travelled. I’ve been lucky to be where I was. Thank you to all these people. I can’t say every name, but thank you.

“Thanks to my parents. My mum is with my daughter. My father is here. I first came here in 2000, played for the first time in 2004. Now I’m here in 2026 and it’s thanks to you, mum and dad.”

Monfils then turned his attention to Paris Masters tournament director Cedric Pioline and French Tennis Federation boss Gilles Moretton, revealing that they were the reason he decided to come out and says farewell. “I’d like to thank these two people,” he continued.

And the 40-year-old capped off his heartfelt speech with a special message to his daughter, Skai. “Before I go, my little girl, Skai, she wanted me to talk about her! ‘You don’t talk enough about me, dad, so you have to talk about me’. So, Skai, if you see me talking to you right now – or maybe you’ll see it later,” he smiled.

“She asked me, ‘Why does everybody come and say hello to me? Is it because daddy is a very nice person? I’ll be a nice person too’. She said, ‘I want to be a champion as well’. And I said, ‘You want to be a champion of what?’ She said, ‘A champion of everything!’ [I said] ‘You’re going to have to pick something’. She said, ‘I want to be the champion of speaking – and a tennis champion’.

“You’ll have good genes, that’s for sure. So I want to dedicate this night to you, Skai. My last tennis presence on the 3rd of November, 2026. So, Skai, your father was a tennis player; he loved tennis. I grew up in Paris. And you will be a champion one day. Hopefully, you’ll play in Paris one day.”

Monfils was a showman on the court, but he was also one of the most popular players in the locker room. And he was inundated with touching tribute messages from old rivals in a special video compilation. “I just want to congratulate you for this amazing career that you had,” Rafael Nadal said.

“What a career you had. One of the most likeable guys, fun guys out there. There’s no one that doesn’t like you, Gael,” Novak Djokovic added. “For me, you were a true inspiration, great athlete,” Carlos Alcaraz said.

Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka, Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud, Valentin Vacherot, Arthur Fils, Lorenzo Musetti, Alexander Zverev, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Jannik Sinner were also among those who sent messages. Ben Shelton and Alex de Minaur said Monfils had been like a “big brother” to them, and Taylor Fritz branded the Frenchman the “ultimate entertainer”

And Monfils’ influence extended beyond the ATP Tour, as former WTA No. 1 Victoria Azarenka also wrote a heartfelt message for the newly-retired star. “I actually recorded a retirement video for you a few years ago. Apparently, you decided you weren’t quite done yet, so that video never saw the light of day,” she wrote.

“But there was a story I told in it that I want to share now, because to me, it says everything about who you are. Years ago, when I lived in LA, you came to visit, and we went to a public tennis court just to mess around, play some silly games, and have fun. At one point, you warned me, ‘Vika, be careful, it’s slippery back there’. And I confidently replied, ‘I don’t play that far back’. Naturally, about two minutes later, I slipped and fell. We were dying laughing.

“And then you did something I’ll never forget. Instead of arguing with him or getting defensive, you walked over and asked if he was okay. You offered to help him pick up his tennis balls. And then you started hitting with him.

“Just like that. Within minutes, this man who had been so upset with us was smiling, laughing, and enjoying himself. The entire atmosphere changed. And you didn’t do any of it because you wanted to prove a point. You weren’t trying to impress anyone. He didn’t even know who you were. You simply chose kindness.”