The life of a tennis player goes through several phases. For Gael Monfils, it seems like a new chapter has begun. The tennis star has always depicted a deep love for his family and while doing that, the strings attached to tennis do not seem loose. Monfils clearly mentioned earlier that he doesn’t “really have big goals” on the court and that’s where the call for retirement started seeming more obvious. While things were calmed down by now, he recently dropped his present take towards the sport that he lived and loved.

Gael Monfils currently has his focus distorted from tennis. The French tennis star’s perspective on life has dramatically shifted since becoming a father to his daughter, Skai, who turns two in October. In a recent press conference, the interviewer asked Monfils, “You spoke about being a father to your daughter, a lot’s obviously changed for you over the years, how much change is it now that you’ve got a family, does that change your perspective at all?”

“A hundred percent,” said Monfils. “I’m not living any more for tennis, you know, I’m living, of course, for my sport, but in another way I just want, of course, to be a father, like a good father, I want to be a good family man, and try my best to adjust, of course, my schedule with my family time.” This added more to his previous comments of not getting enough to spend with his beloved family.

Through to the semi-finals in Qatar, Monfils admitted that being away from his daughter is tough: “The victories help a little, but it takes a long time. Tennis is cool, but I really miss my daughter” However, despite the troubles, he announced that Skai would join him and his wife, Elina Svitolina, in the United States in March. The family attended both the Indian Wells(Monfils’ first tournament in seven months) and Miami Open tournaments. “Fortunately, she will be with us in the United States,” Monfils added.

In the same interview, the 38-year-old admitted that he has made sacrifices for tennis and a major part of it was missing out on watching his younger siblings grow up. He called it “a first sacrifice when you are young, in relation to your parents and your family.”

As a new father, Gael Monfils feels the added pressure of balancing his tennis career with family life. However, he finds solace in his tennis victories. It’s worth noting that in the past, he contemplated quitting tennis due to personal challenges.

The time when Gael Monfils “just wanted to stop”

Gael Monfils’ tennis journey has been full of ups and downs. There was a moment back in 2022 where he almost took a call to retire as family challenges like his wife’s pregnancy and an accident in the family, and a serious foot injury pushed him to his limits, both physically and emotionally. In a conversation on the UTS podcast ‘All on the Table(in March this year),’ Monfils talked about this difficult time in detail.

“I just wanted to stop,” he admitted. “I had genuine doubts. In fact, just before I seriously injured myself, there was a very serious accident in my family, involving someone very close to me. It really distressed me. I’ve never said that.”

Although the physical aspect could still be fixed by training his upper body, but mentally, he was worn out and lacked motivation. However, the arrival of his daughter became the source of hope he needed. “The only thing that kept me going in 2022-2023 was my daughter,” Monfils said. As he looks forward to take his run forward at the Shanghai Masters, his performance would reveal if he could keep that “fire” alive.