Ben Shelton has given his verdict on Gael Monfils’ decision to bring an end to his decorated career in 2026.
Monfils has announced that 2026 will be his last season, with the Frenchman playing his 23rd and final year on the ATP Tour.
Although he has no concrete plans for the final year of his career, Monfils does have a specific tournament where he would like to retire.
Now Shelton, who Monfils praised at the Australian Open last year, has explained how he really feels about the 13-time title winner retiring.
Ben Shelton admits his true feelings about Gael Monfils’ retirement
Shelton will play the first tournament of his 2026 season at the ASB Classic, where Monfils is the defending champion.
Ahead of his tournament getting underway, Shelton spoke in his pre-tournament press conference, where he was asked about Monfils.
While Shelton understood Monfils’ decision to hang his rackets up, the American admitted that he was ‘disappointed’ as he spoke about how much he looked up to the former world number six.
“A lot of entertainment for sure (asked what he expects from Monfils in Auckland),” said Shelton. “He’s one of my favorite guys on tour, he’s someone that I’ve looked up to as a kid, you know I’ve said it a million times I’ve watched his highlights thousands of times.
“Yeah, I’m disappointed to see him go, but playing on tour for over 20 years is not something that a lot of people get to do, he’s had an amazing career and yeah I’m kind of just looking forward to being around his last year on tour and I hope he gets a good farewell.”
The Australian Open is the best Grand Slam… discuss!
When could Ben Shelton play Gael Monfils at the ASB Classic?
This will be Shelton’s fourth appearance at the ASB Classic, but he is yet to reach the final of the ATP 250 tournament in Auckland.
That cannot be said for Monfils, who made history at the ASB Classic last year when he won his 13th career title.
Who is your dark horse for the 2026 Australian Open?
Shelton and Monfils have only played once before, which came at the Australian Open last year when the latter was forced to retire in the fourth set of their match.
| ASB Classic 2026 | Ben Shelton’s potential opponent |
| First Round | Receives a bye as the top seed |
| Second Round | Francisco Comesana |
| Quarterfinal | Sebastian Baez (7)/Jenson Brooksby |
| Semifinal | Luciano Darderi (4)/Alex Michelsen (6)/Alexandre Muller/Camilo Ugo Carabelli |
| Final | Casper Ruud (2)/Jakub Mensik (3)/Cameron Norrie/Gael Monfils |
There is only one way that they can play in Auckland, and that is if both players reach the final of the tournament.
That would be some feat for Monfils to achieve, with the 39-year-old in the same half of the draw as Casper Ruud, Jakub Mensik and Cameron Norrie.
Before he can even think about reaching the final, Monfils will play his first match of the season against Hungarian Fabian Marozsan, with Ruud awaiting the winner.
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