Gael Monfils to skip French Open because of heel surgery

Gael Monfils (Google Images)

According to the Associated Press on Monday, French tennis star Gael Monfils of Paris has withdrawn from the 2022 French Open because of a heel injury. It has been a busy period of time for Monfils as it was announced over the weekend, that his wife and fellow tennis star, Elina Svitolina of Ukraine was pregnant, and would be expecting their first child, a girl, in October.

Monfils is currently ranked 22nd in the world, and is the highest seeded Frenchman. The next highest seeded French men’s tennis player now is Ugo Humbert at 45th in the world. Last week, fellow French tennis player Gilles Simon announced he would retire at the end of 2022.

Monfils reached the semifinals of the 2008 French Open, which is tied for his best grand slam result. He also reached the final four of the 2016 United States Open.

Monfils’s last match before the injury was a second round loss to world number one Novak Djokovic of Serbia at the Madrid Masters. There, Monfils lost 6-3, 6-2.

Due to the pregnancy and mental strain, Svitolina has also decided to withdraw from the French Open according to Outlook India. Her last tournament was the Miami Open, where she was upset in the second round by Heather Watson of Great Britain, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6. It was the first of three consecutive losses for Svitolina, as she was also beaten by Camila Osorio of Colombia in the quarterfinals of Monterrey, 1-6, 7-5, 7-6, and by Harriet Dart of Great Britain in the second round of Indian Wells, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. Svitolina is currently ranked 32nd in the world, and reached as far as the quarterfinals of the French Open in 2015, 2017 and 2020.

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