Tennis world pays tribute after two stars' careers at French Open come to end after 21 years

Tennis fans and commentators are paying tribute to Stan Wawrinka and Gael Monfils after the veteran stars’ French Open careers came to an end within hours of each other on Monday. The 41-year-old Wawrinka announced at the start of the year that 2026 would be his final season in professional tennis.

He bid an emotional farewell to the Australian Open in January, and there were similar scenes at Roland Garros on Monday. Unlike at the Australian Open where he made the third round, Wawrinka fell in the first round of the French.

The Swiss star went down in just over three hours, losing 3-6 6-3 3-6 4-6 to Dutch lucky loser Jesper de Jong. It brought down the curtain on Wawrinka’s 21st and final French Open campaign.

He famously beat Rafa Nadal in his pomp to win the French Open in 2015, and also won the Australian Open in 2014 and US Open in 2016. He won Olympic gold in 2008 alongside Roger Federer in doubles, and helped Switzerland win the Davis Cup in 2014.

On Monday he collapsed to the court after the final point, and bowed his head as he sat in his court-side chair. He was presented with a special trophy in a post-match ceremony.

"It was amazing. More than what I could expect and what I could dream of," he said of his final match at Roland Garros. "So much support, so much love from the people. It was exactly the reason why I kept playing for so long.

"Today it was really tough. It's never easy to say goodbye to something you love so much. I grew up watching Roland Garros. I'm from Switzerland, from the French part. The dream at that time of the year was to come back from school and to put on France Television and watch all night, all day, until late. As a kid, I just enjoyed that so much.

"For me, the French Open is always going to be completely different than the other tournaments."

Tennis world pays tribute to retiring champs

Federer, Nadal and Novak Djokovic were among the many to send congratulations to Wawrinka in a special video message that was played. The curtain then fell on Monfils just before midnight when he lost to countryman Hugo Gaston 2-6 3-6 6-3 6-2 0-6.

The 39-year-old is also retiring at season’s end. Both he and Wawrinka made their French Open debuts 21 years ago.

Monfils was joined in an on-court ceremony by his former Davis Cup teammates Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Richard Gasquet and Gilles Simon. He too was celebrated in a special video tribute that included World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz.

Monfils’ wife Elina Svitolina was in tears in the stands. "Without her I might not be here tonight,” the Frenchman said. "We’ve been together for eight years, eight beautiful years ... (You) gave me the greatest gift in the world, our daughter. I love you.”

On social media, fans and commentators paid tribute to Wawrinka and Monfils after their final matches at Roland Garros.

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