 "Rafael Nadal to get special tribute at French Open 2025 after he refused to be honoured last year")
Tennis legend Rafael Nadal will be honoured with a special on-court ceremony at the upcoming French Open 2025, organisers have confirmed. The tribute will take place on Sunday, 25 May, at the iconic Court Philippe-Chatrier, the same court where Nadal created history by winning a record 14 French Open titles.
RAFAEL NADAL TO BE HONOURED
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) April 17, 2025
A ceremony will be held on Sunday, May 25 on Court Philippe-Chatrier, after the three matches of the day session.
What’s the occasion?
Nadal, who retired from professional tennis in November 2024 during the Davis Cup Finals, has not been seen much on the tennis circuit since then. He had refused a tribute last year after losing in the first round to Alexander Zverev, saying he was still unsure about his retirement plans at the time.
But this year, he’s ready to be celebrated. “See you soon, Paris,” Nadal tweeted, confirming he will be there for the special moment at the French Open.
👋🏼 See you soon, Paris ☺️ https://t.co/oP30tDrm4a
— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) April 17, 2025
French Open tournament director Amelie Mauresmo officially announced the tribute during a press conference before the tournament. According to her, the ceremony will take place after the three main matches on day one of the event.
Why is this special?
Court Philippe-Chatrier is where Nadal has won the most of his Grand Slam titles. Out of his 22 Grand Slam titles, 14 were won at the French Open, an achievement no player has ever matched at a single tournament.
Though the French Open team had prepared a tribute for him last year, Nadal asked them to cancel it because he wasn’t sure if it would be his last appearance.
“As you can imagine, we had something planned for him. But he told us that because he doesn’t know if this is not going to be his last Roland Garros or not he wants to leave the door open for him to come back next year,” Mauresmo explained.
Nadal did return once for the 2024 Olympics, which were also held at Roland Garros. Nadal played singles and doubles (with Carlos Alcaraz) but didn’t go too far in the tournament.
A better send-off than Davis Cup?
After announcing his retirement, Nadal had a short ceremony at the Davis Cup Finals in October last year. However, many fans and tennis legends were not happy with how it was done. His uncle Toni Nadal called it “scruffy and shabby,” and even Novak Djokovic said it “wasn’t done properly.”
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