Aurélie Sacchelli, Media365, published on Sunday February 8, 2026 at 10:56 a.m.
Gaël Monfils has withdrawn from the ATP 500 in Rio, which will begin in eight days, due to a virus from which he cannot recover and which prevents him from traveling.
It seems more than just gastroenteritis from which Gaël Monfils suffers. The French tennis player, future retiree, is in fact forced to withdraw from a second tournament in a row. On Wednesday, he announced that he would give up the Buenos Aires tournament, which will begin this Monday. “I got sick on the way back from Australia, as you can see. My doctor told me that I needed more time to rest,” he said in a video where he actually didn’t seem in great shape. And this Saturday, the 39-year-old announced his withdrawal for the next tournament, that of Rio, which will begin in eight days.
Monfils: “A virus that seriously affects my health”
“I am very sad to have to withdraw from the Rio Open. I have done everything to recover, but unfortunately I am dealing with a virus which is seriously affecting my health and preventing me from traveling. For now, my priority is my health and I need time to recover so that I can return to the court. I love playing in Rio and I apologize to the fans and the tournament for not being able to be with you,” said “La Monfe”. For the last season of his career, Gaël Monfils decided to change his habits by going to play the South American tour on clay for the first time since 2018. At the time 43rd in the world, he had a semi-final at the ATP 250 in Buenos Aires (loss against Dominic Thiem) and quarter-finals at the ATP 500 in Rio (loss against Diego Schwartzman). But South American fans will not see him one last time on an ocher court.
Heading to Acapulco?
After his elimination at the Australian Open, Gaël Monfils stayed in Melbourne to follow the great career of his wife Elina Svitolina, semi-finalist. He took the opportunity to start training on clay, in preparation for this tour, and of course Roland-Garros where he dreams of one last great performance. We will not see the 165th in the world again before the week of February 23, on the hard courts of Acapulco, where he received an invitation. But will he be able to hold his place?
