It is the day for expletive rants in the tennis world, and this one is courtesy of French tennis legend Gael Monfils. Monfils lost his recent Stuttgart match to American Alex Michelsen.
That was fun 💥
Michelsen defeats Monfils 6-4 4-6 6-3 in an entertaining battle in Stuttgart 👏#BOSSOPEN pic.twitter.com/tOmpo9Qdo2
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) June 10, 2025
Though it is disappointing, it is not surprising that Monfils got a lot of negative social media feedback from bettors about this loss. Sadly, this is not a problem unique to Monfils or even tennis, athletes in other sports deal with it also.
However, Gael Monfils is a charismatic and dynamic personality who decided to face the matter head on and in his own unique way.
Gael Monfils made a video
Instead of ignoring or publicizing the comments for people to see the horrible way athletes can be addressed by bettors on social media, Monfils posted a video on his Instagram reel.
Instead of taking issue with being called s$%t, he embraced it, saying he knows he is. Monfils talked about playing someone nearly half his age and managed to conclude the video by accurately describing how good looking he is, something his mother and wife tell him all the time.
If this video does not make you love Monfils more or turn you into a life-long Monfils fan if you were not familiar with him, nothing will.
Gael Monfils calls out bettors attacking him after his loss in Stuttgart
“Really? You’re still betting on me? You’re writing that I’m sh*t. I know I’m sh*t. We both know I’m sh*t” 😭😭😭😭
(h/t @_endlessfigure8)
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) June 11, 2025
Athletes and social media – a precarious relationship
Professional athletes struggle to find the right balance on social media. They want to directly interact with fans. However, they do not like to hear so much negativity particularly from sports bettors.
Monfils is awesome, and only he could approach this situation with honestly, respectfully, and have people laughing in the process.
