Gael Monfils survives injury scare to keep hopes of winning huge UTS money bonus alive

Gael Monfils survived a worrying injury scare to qualify for the semi-final at the Ultimate Tennis Showdown in London.

The Frenchman locked his back in the first quarter of his match against compatriot Ugo Humbert and needed a medical time out. But he stormed back to take their contest to a sudden death.

Despite losing the match, by winning two quarters he booked his spot in the last four and remains the only man in contention for a huge UTS prize money bonus of £392k. If he wins the title, he will take home £723k.

Monfils is using this weekend’s UTS Grand Final as part of his pre-season training. But things turned sour when his back suddenly locked up when he faced Humbert in his third and final round-robin match on Saturday evening.

The world No. 55 struggled to serve, slamming balls into the net and doubling over in pain in between points. After losing the first quarter, he left the court for a medical time out.

His time with the physio did the trick – after going two quarters down, he stormed back to win the next two eight-minute quarters, racking up the most points. It took the match to sudden death and guaranteed Monfils a place in the semis, though Humbert came out on top.

Afterwards, Monfils told that he remained confident despite the momentary scare. “When you have this, of course you want to have the time out straight away,” he said.

“Usually we have it straight away but you need to finish the quarter and I don’t want to take a stupid risk but you want to play for the audience.

“It’s a mixed feeling. But I was not too concerned because I knew it was my back but I felt like I could do some stuff, I just had to move it. I was still confident because I was playing great tennis, just a matter of getting warm and getting the back injured.”

However, his countryman wasn’t entirely convinced that anything was wrong. “He was not injured, he was not injured. For me, he was not injured,” world No. 14 Humbert laughed.

“If he was injured he would have to stop the match. It’s never easy because I’ve played him a couple of times and he did it like this. It’s not easy to play against him when he’s doing this. Sometimes he has a serious thing, this time I don’t know.”

Monfils wasn’t offended by Humbert’s words, though he suggested that some other rivals often didn’t realise the physical struggles he faced competing as a 38 year old. He replied: “You’re always injured somehow, you play injured.

“I was not injured [enough] to not play the match. We, let’s say the olders, we always take tablets, we take care of our bodies. I’m not injured but I’m good to be on the court and compete and actually play tough. As I say always, if I’m not injured, look out, because I’ll be much better.

“That’s a little bit tough because a lot of people – not Ugo – a lot of people see me moving not great and they take it for granted. They see me, they think I’m like 26 years old, they’re like, ‘Wow Gael, you can play forever’.

“I’m human. I’m already 38 years old. I know all the accolades have passed a little bit, we get a few injuries, we need to manage it better. Sometimes I’m not playing for weeks and weeks but I try to manage it in a way.

“So easier at 26, easier at 20, at 21. No matter what, I get confidence with that because I’m still playing tennis for passion and I’m very passionate about what I do.”

Monfils will be back in action on Sunday as he bids to lift the title. The Frenchman has played all four UTS events in 2024, making him the only man in the London field who can win the maximum tournament bonus of £392k on top of his regular prize money pot.

Every match is worth £87k total, with £61k going to the winner and £26k for the loser. By going 2-1 in his round-robin matches, Monfils has already banked £148k.