After retiring from tennis last year after a decades-long career, tennis icon and Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal was honored over the weekend at the French Open.
At a farewell ceremony in Paris on Sunday, Rafael Nadal, who won 14 French Open titles over the years, beginning with his tournament debut in 2005 at the age of 19, was given a standing ovation at Roland-Garros’ renowned Court Philippe-Chatrier while wearing a dark suit and matching shirt.
Longtime rivals and friends Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray joined him on the court. He thanked them for their “amazing rivalries” and respect, even though they were “tough” opponents.
“After all these years fighting for everything, you know, it’s unbelievable how the time changed the perspective of everything … all these nerves, pressure, strange feelings that you feel when you see each other when you are rivals, it’s completely different when you finish your career,” Nadal said while addressing his former rivals. In the end, it all comes down to being content with what we accomplished. We all succeeded in realizing our aspirations in the end.
He laughed and went on, “You gave me some hard times on the court, honestly.” “But I really enjoyed it a lot, pushing myself to the limit every single day to compete with all of you.”
Nadal is regarded as one of the best clay court players of all time and has a 112-4 French Open record. He announced in October that he would be retiring the following month following the Davis Cup Finals in his native Spain, Málaga, after more than 20 years in the sport, which included 92 ATP-level singles titles and a Career Golden Slam, which included all four major titles and an Olympic gold medal.
In a video announcement posted on social media at the time, he stated, “The reality is that it has been some difficult years, these last two especially.” I doubt I’ve been able to play without any restrictions. Clearly, this is a tough choice, and I’ve been considering it for a while. and I believe that this is the right moment to terminate a lengthy and far more prosperous career than I ever could have dreamed.”
At Sunday’s farewell ceremony, Nadal’s family sat amidst a sea of rust-colored T-shirts that read “MERCI RAFA” and were the exact same hue as the renowned Philippe-Chatrier clay. At one point, the tennis legend waved to the applauding crowd while holding his toddler son Rafael Jr. down into the court.
He included the statement, “At the end, tennis is just a game,” in his address. “Sometimes we feel a little bit more, but I think we understand that at the end of the day, it’s really only a game.”
He went on to address his old rivals, saying, “For me, it means the world that you are all present. We can be wonderful friends even if we have the greatest rivalries, which is a beautiful message to the rest of the world. I sincerely hope, and I have no doubt, that we will keep doing good things for our sport in the future. Our legacy is undeniable, but we must continue to improve tennis in order for it to continue to flourish. I have no doubt that we will create wonderful things collectively.
At the conclusion of Sunday’s ceremony, French Tennis Federation President Gilles Moretton and French Open tournament director Amelie Mauresmo unveiled a courtside plaque. The plaque featured a white rectangle with Rafael Nadal’s name and footprint, the number 14 (a record of Nadal’s French Open victories), and an image of the Coupe des Mousquetaires, the trophy given to the winner of the annual tournament.
The announcer’s words, “Your footprints will stay here forever,”