Just a few seconds into the first standing ovation on an unforgettable day inside Court Philippe‑Chatrier, Rafael Nadal’s composure had already crumbled. It did not return for the remainder of the afternoon as he was celebrated in an emotional, elaborate tribute following his retirement from professional tennis last November, marking the end of one of the greatest sporting careers in history.
“I have been very, very emotional,” Nadal said afterwards. “I think it was perfect, honestly. I couldn’t expect a more emotional day.”
A year ago, Nadal’s career at Roland Garros came to an end after a tight, first-rounddefeat by Alexander Zverev. Although he knew it would probably be his final act as a professional player, Nadal had opted against receiving a real farewell ceremony after his defeat as he was not 100% certain he would end his career. He ultimately chose to end it at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga after Spain were defeated by the Netherlands.
Regardless of where Nadal officially ended his career, Roland Garros was always going to be his final destination. He retired with an incredible 112-4 record here, winning the title 14 times and establishing a level of dominance almost unheard of at the highest level of the most prominent, global professional sports. “To win 14 grand slams [titles] in the same place, here in Roland Garros, that can happen,” Nadal said, smiling. “But it’s gonna take a while, at least 30 more years.”
Shortly after Lorenzo Musetti’s mercifully straightforward victory against Yannick Hanfmann, the main event began. The FrenchTennisFederation had provided the majority of spectators on Court Philippe-Chatrier with orange shirts that read “Merci Rafa”. A small minority at the top level of the stadium, meanwhile, were gifted a white shirt, which the organisers had strategically arranged so that the crowd spelled out: “14 RG” alongside the image of a trophy on one side and “Rafa” bracketed by two hearts on the other. Nadal, wearing a black suit, was ushered on to the court towards a lectern in the middle of the service line.
He worked through a pre-prepared trilingual speech, navigating French, English and Spanish. He was accompanied in the audience by a large contingent of his family, including his parents, his uncle Toni, who coached him from his childhood to the record books, his wife Mery and their two‑year-old son, Rafael. He addressed each of them directly throughout the speech. Other familiar faces, such as Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek, were present in the crowd.
Towards the end of the ceremony, Nadal was joined on the court by his three greatest rivals, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. Nadal said: “To have my three biggest rivals there in the court with me meant a lot, no? And at the same time it’s a great message for the world, I think, that best rivals, toughest rivalries probably in the history of our sport, are able to be good colleagues, to respect each other. You don’t need to hate the opponent to try to beat him with all your forces.”
As he discussed his rivals later in a lengthy press conference, Nadal found himself thinking about Murray. The pair had not been in touch for a while until last month when, immediately after Arsenal defeated Real Madrid, Nadal received a message from Murray. Nadal, a diehard Real Madrid fan, pulled out the phone and read Murray’s message out: “I’m gonna read [Murray’s text], because it’s quite good: ‘Hey, Rafa, haven’t spoken to you in a while. Just checking in to make sure you are OK.’ So honestly, it took me like five seconds to realise what I was reading, because at the beginning, I said: ‘OK, he’s such a nice guy. He’s asking about how I’m doing, family.’ After five seconds, I said: ‘This always was [the] British sense of humour,” Nadal, said laughing. “By the way, I didn’t text him back when PSG beat Arsenal.”
After 40 minutes, the ceremony ended with a final emotional trigger for Nadal as Gilles Moretton and Amélie Mauresmo, the FFT president and the Roland Garros tournament director respectively, unveiled a plaque on-court with Nadal’s footprint and signature. Court Philippe‑Chatrier will bear his footprint forever.
“It has been unforgettable, plenty of emotions for a guy like me that, I don’t love these kind of things because I’m still a little bit shy for all this stuff,” Nadal said. “I don’t like a lot to be the centre of attention for these things. It was enough when I was playing tennis. But I enjoyed it, honestly. I suffered a little bit with the emotions, but I enjoyed a lot.”