Picture credit score: Rob Stone/@RobStoneTennis
Sliderman will be part of Spider-Man at this month’s US Open.
Gael Monfils, affectionately nicknamed Sliderman for his acrobatic flights on courtroom, has been given a wild card into the 2026 US Open principal draw, the French Tennis Federation introduced.
Will probably be Monfils’ 18th US Open look, and his wild card announcement comes a day after the USTA introduced its Spider-Man collectible comedian guide giveaway.
Former world No. 91 Léolia Jeanjean has been issued a US Open wild card into the ladies’s principal draw. Beneath a reciprocal settlement, the USTA grants the French Tennis Federation a pair of US Open wild playing cards in trade for 2 wild playing cards for American gamers into Roland Garros.
The 39-year-old Monfils, a wildly fashionable participant in New York Metropolis, will make this his final US Open dance. Monfils, who introduced he’ll retire on the conclusion of the 2026 season, has loved success on the Flushing Meadows main.
n 2016, Monfils scored straight-sets wins over Nicolas Almagro, Marcos Baghdatis and Lucas Pouille to succeed in the US Open semifinals the place he misplaced to Novak Djokovic. It was one in every of two Grand Slam semifinals Monfils has made in his profession. Three years later, Monfils superior to the US Open quarterfinal struggling a gut-wrenching 7-6(5) within the fifth-set loss to Matteo Berrettini.
Gaël Monfils, wild-card FFT à l’US Open 🎟️ pic.twitter.com/UM5UTU1ow9
— FFT (@FFTennis) August 5, 2026
Devoted Flushing Meadows followers will recall Monfils constructing a two-set lead over Roger Federer in an electrifying 2014 US Open quarterfinal earlier than the Swiss Maestro rallied for a pulsating five-set victory. In that conflict, Monfils, chugging Coca-Cola on changeovers, hit some spectacular flying forehands and dueled 20-time Grand Slam champion Federer in a shot-making competition. A reminder of that magical night time right here:
Now ranked No. 347, Monfils made his US Open debut on the 2005 US Open.
In a sweltering five-set conflict on an outer courtroom, Monfils fell to a gifted, younger world No. 97 named Novak Djokovic, 7-5, within the fifth set.
