France’s Gael Monfils is unfazed by a series of threatening messages made against him on social media after publicly addressing his critics.
The world No.42 received a series of comments following his first round exit from the Stuttgart Open. Monfils lost 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, to America’s Alex Michelsen who is seeded seventh in the tournament and currently ranked seven paces higher than him in the ATP standings.
In a video, Monfils poked fun at those who bet on him to win. The 38-year-old was playing in his first tournament on grass this season and has won just three out of his last six matches played since Monte Carlo.
“Hey guys, it’s not financial advice, but really, you’re still betting on me? First tournament on grass, I played Alex Michelsen, 20 years old, 35 in a word, and you wanna bet on me? You are writing that I’m sh*t. I know I’m sh*t. We both know I’m sh*t and you still bet on me? Who is the dumbest between you and me, to be honest? No, come on,” Monfils commented.
Whilst there was a good sense of humour from the tennis star, some of the comments directed at him were serious. The main topic of the abuse concerned his skin colour and wishing he would injure himself.
“By the way, you know my legs have already cracked many times. I play with a broken leg already. So don’t pray for that but the thing is, I’m not suffering. Sorry. Again I’m going to mention it, we are in 2025 and you give me the skin color. What does my skin colour have to do with the tennis performance?” he continued.
“I know I look pretty. I mean, I say that because my mom and my wife tell me I look pretty. Maybe I look really awful for you. Open some books, do something. This time, you know with skin colour, you know it’s finish, vanish it from your mind. Of course, if you want to look a little bit like me, yes play a little bit in the sun. Please use some sunscreen you know for protection. I mean I have to help you with that and open some books,” Monfils added.
Another subject includes threats made to his family. Monfils is married to fellow tennis player Elina Svitolina and they have a young daughter.
“Please also guys, things on family, come on leave the family alone. It’s just me you know, it’s just me you know. My mom or my wife, no one has to come on that. It’s just me. If you want to put your rage on someone, just me, don’t pray for someone else. It’s better. I mean although if you add people, karma will be really bad. Trust me. Allez bisous et paix à votre âme (Go kisses and peace to your soul), like we say in French,” he ended the video saying.
According to an artificial intelligence system, there were 12,000 social media posts towards players that were deemed abusive and broke social media platform guidelines in 2024. 48% of those comments were linked to angry gamblers. The ‘threat matrix’ study was undertaken by The International Tennis Federation (ITF), the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) and the United States Tennis Association (USTA).
