Gilles Simon is a veteran Tennis star from France, and here is everything you should know about him, including his net worth, career, personal life and more
The 37-year-old French veteran, Gilles Simon, has announced that the ongoing Paris Masters competition will be his last tournament on the tour.
Born on | 27 December 1984 |
Born in | Nice, France |
Age | 37 |
Height | 6 feet or 1.83 meters |
Zodiac sign | Capricorn |
Wife | Carine Lauret |
Kids | 2 sons |
Father | Daniel Simon |
Mother | Mireille Simon |
Turned Pro | 2002 |
Net worth | 13 million dollars (approx.) |
Coach | Etienne Laforgue |
Residence | Boulogne-Billancourtt, France |
Born in Nice to parents Daniel Simon and Mireille Simon, Gilles Simon grew up in Fontenay-sous-Bois, outside Paris. Daniel works for an insurance company while Mireille is a doctor. Gilles started playing tennis at the age of 6 and his parents always encouraged him to follow his dream.
He suffered from a hereditary growth delay that resulted in him being shorter than most children of his age during his early teenage years. He looked up to Michael Chang as the American player was not the tallest to play the sport.
Gilles Simon tied the knot with his longtime girlfriend, Carine Lauret, and they were blessed with their first child in 2010. They became parents for the second time in 2013.
Gilles Simon turned pro in 2002 at the age of 17. He won his first Futures title in Lisbon, Portugal, in June 2003. In September, he won his second title in Jamaica. 2004 was another fruitful year for him as managed three wins in France and another in Algeria.
At the age of 19, Simon made his ATP tour debut in Metz, France in the year 2004. In January 2005, he won his first Challenger tournament in Noumea, New Caledonia, and defended it in the following edition.
Simon’s Grand Slam debut came in the 2005 French Open, where he lost to Olivier Patience in the first round in four sets. He reached his first-ever ATP Tour final in Valencia in 2006. However, the rub of the green did not go his way in the final as he lost to Nicolas Almagro.
The year 2007 will always be remembered by Simon and his fans because he won his first and second ATP titles in that year. His first title came at the Open 13 in Marseille, France, when he defeated Marcus Baghdatis in the final. In September, Simon won his second title of the year at the BCR Open Romania in Bucharest, Romania.
In 2008, Simon made his way into the top 10 for the first time in his career. The Frenchman has made it to two quarterfinals in Grand Slams. The first one came at 2009 Australian Open while the second one came at the 2015 Wimbledon.
He struggled with inconsistency over the years until he made a resurgence in 2014 and returned to the top 10 the following year.
In 2017, Simon finished outside the top 50 for the first time since 2005 after some disappointing results. He won only 16 matches that year while losing on 25 occasions. This was after he made a decent start by reaching the third round at the Australian Open.
In 2018, Simon won his 14th and last ATP Tour title in his storied career when he defeated Matthias Bachinger in the Moselle Open final in Metz.
In 2021, Simon lost in the first round in Montpellier to Dennis Novak. Following the defeat, Simon announced that he would be taking a break from the tour for an indefinite period of time because of some mental issues.
Simon has mostly played in the Challenger events in 2022. The 37-year-old won his 500th career match when he defeated Steve Johnson in straight sets in the second round of the 2022 French Open. He became the 56th overall player to reach this incredible milestone.
At the 2022 Paris Masters, Simon defeated Andy Murray in the first round to record his 300th win on a hard court. He became the 24th man in the Open Era to reach that milestone.
The 37-year-old has won 14 singles titles in his career. He reached a career-high ranking of No. 6 on 5 January 2009 in singles. Simon has won 503 singles matches in his career so far and lost 393 with a win percentage of 56.1 (in ATP Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches, and in Davis Cup).
Simon did not win any doubles title in his career and reached a career-high ranking of No. 117 on 28 January 2008. He won 42 matches and lost 148 with a win percentage of 22.1 (in ATP Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches, and in Davis Cup).
Gilles Simon has an estimated net worth of 13 million dollars (approx.) and has combined prize money in both singles and doubles of $15,973,139.
Gilles Simon is 37 years old as of this writing.
Gilles Simon has two sons.
Gilles Simon has won 14 ATP Tour-level titles in his career.
Gilles Simon is 6 feet tall.
Gilles Simon likes playing video games, especially Virtua Tennis.
More Tennis news
Follow our dedicated Tennis page for instant Tennis news and updates