Gael Monfils withdraws from 2025 Shanghai Masters with an injury

Thursday, 25 September 2025 at 16:26

byJordan Reynolds

Gael Monfils may never return to Asia before the end of his career after withdrawing from the 2025 Shanghai Masters.

The much-loved 39-year-old veteran played at last week's Chengdu Open. Lorenzo Musetti had two championship points in the final against Alejandro Tabilo but ultimately lost. The Italian was in tears afterward.

Monfils's time in Chengdu ended much more swiftly. The score in his opening-round match against Alexander Shevchenko was 7-6, 3-6, 0-1 when the Frenchman had to retire because of an ankle injury.

After falling to the ground in pain, Monfils was seen by a physiotherapist. Despite attempting to play after receiving treatment, the former US Open semifinalist eventually realized he could not continue.

After his retirement in Chengdu, Monfils posted a message to fans on social media. He admitted the last few months have been challenging for him, but said he was still doing well as a person and thanked everyone for their support.

"Well... it's clearly not the best moment of my career right now, let's not kid ourselves (there's a lot going on, a lot of questions... but oh well). Not the best vibes, no success, and today the ankle gives out, bad luck."

"But honestly, I'm doing super well as a person and that's the main thing. I still have so much luck to be able to play in this high-level sport that I love so much. Even though my ankle stopped me today, I'm super grateful to all the people who work with me to keep me at the top."

"Thank you to everyone who sends me positive messages, I see them, I feel them, and it makes me so happy. Thank you so much for your support, really."

Unsurprisingly, Monfils has withdrawn from next week's Shanghai Masters. Ankle injuries usually take a while to heal, and the process is almost always longer for a player of Monfils' age. His still competing at all at 39 is a great achievement.

The former world No. 6 has had ankle problems before that have kept him out for months. Hopefully, the issue is not that severe since recovering from a serious ankle injury at his age will be challenging and raise questions about how much longer he can keep playing.

Novak Djokovic is among those on the Shanghai Masters entry list

Some wondered whether Novak Djokovic would play again this season after his 2025 US Open semifinal loss to Carlos Alcaraz. The tennis legend, rated as the best ever by Bjorn Borg, recently said the Grand Slams were the only tournaments on his calendar, as far as he was concerned.

Djokovic might have altered his mindset after the loss to Alcaraz in New York, when he admitted that beating the Spaniard and Jannik Sinner in best-of-five set matches at this stage of his career is difficult, and he probably has a better chance in a best-of-three.

The Serbian can try to put that theory into practice in Shanghai. He could also face Alcaraz and/or Sinner at the 2025 Six Kings Slam in Riyadh, which begins afterward.