Camille Naredo

Former Spanish player Rafael Nadal arrives at a ceremony honoring his career on Court Philippe-Chatrier during the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland-Garros Complex in Paris on May 25, 2025. Franck Fife, AFP

Former Spanish player Rafael Nadal arrives at a ceremony honoring his career on Court Philippe-Chatrier during the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland-Garros Complex in Paris on May 25, 2025. May 23, 2025, marked 20 years since Spain's Raphael Nadal shook Roland Garros with his first match at the French Open, changing the tennis tournament's history forever. Two decades and 14 titles later, the clay court legend, who retired in November 2024, will receive a tribute during the tournament on May 25, 2025. (Photo by Franck FIFE / AFP)

Article (news)

French Open

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1748196963016AFP__20250525__483E29D__v1__HighRes__TennisFraOpen2025.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Former Spanish player Rafael Nadal arrives at a ceremony honoring his career on Court Philippe-Chatrier during the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland-Garros Complex in Paris on May 25, 2025. Franck Fife, AFP"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Former Spanish player Rafael Nadal arrives at a ceremony honoring his career on Court Philippe-Chatrier during the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland-Garros Complex in Paris on May 25, 2025. <em>Franck Fife, AFP</em><em></em><strong><em></em></strong></span></span></span></div><p>PARIS, France -- Rafael Nadal was given a rousing reception as the &#x27;King of Clay&#x27; stepped onto Court Philippe Chatrier for the final time on Sunday in a ceremony to celebrate his career at the French Open.</p><p>The 38-year-old, who retired from tennis last November, was serenaded by the Roland Garros crowd, with spectators wearing different cultured t-shirts to create the message &quot;14 RG, Rafa&quot;.</p><p>Nadal dominated the French Open after winning on debut as a teenager in 2005, lifting the trophy a record-breaking 14 times.</p><p>The Spaniard finished with a remarkable 112-4 win-loss record at the clay-court Grand Slam.</p><p>He last won the title in 2022 and played his final match on the Paris clay last year when he was defeated by Alexander Zverev in the first round.</p><p>&quot;I don&#x27;t know how to start... I&#x27;ve been playing on this court for 20 years. I suffered, I won, I lost. I have lived many emotions here on this court,&quot; an emotional Nadal told the crowd after watching a video of his career highlights at Roland Garros.</p><p>Nadal&#x27;s family and friends watched from the player&#x27;s box, along with many of his former coaching staff, including his uncle Toni.</p><p>&quot;Without doubt, the most important tennis court of my career,&quot; Nadal added to cheers.</p><p>&quot;It&#x27;s been an incredible story that began back in 2004 when I came to Roland Garros for the very first time. I could barely walk on crutches due to a foot injury. I climbed to the top of the court and looked out and couldn&#x27;t wait to play here.&quot;</p><p>Nadal won the title the very next year after that injury setback, downing Mariano Puerta in the final.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2025/4/22/-i-don-t-miss-tennis-says-nadal-1223">READ: &#x27;I don&#x27;t miss tennis,&#x27; says Nadal</a></div><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2024/11/21/watch-rafa-nadals-emotional-farewell-to-tennis-1813">WATCH: Rafa Nadal&#x27;s emotional farewell to tennis</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>- Old rivals pay tribute -</strong></div><p>Nadal&#x27;s long-time rivals Novak Djokovic, fresh from winning his 100th ATP title on Saturday, Roger Federer and Andy Murray all joined him on the main Chatrier court.</p><p>The trio walked out after Nadal&#x27;s speech to greet their fellow former world number one, to a deafening roar from the fans.</p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:550px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px"><iframe id="twitter-widget-3" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-3&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1926694382817751551&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aod2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2025-05-25T08%3A32%3A52.820819%3Af28b8c13-1740-4f96-aa98-a820a2a62342%26action%3Dedit&amp;sessionId=3aedf3873d902605a1b2eb2a7f9fcc6de795e5a8&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:550px;height:826px;display:block;flex-grow:1" data-tweet-id="1926694382817751551"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><p>&quot;After all these years fighting for everything, it&#x27;s unbelievable how time changes the perspective of things,&quot; Nadal said to the other members of the &#x27;Big Four&#x27;.</p><p>&quot;All the nerves, pressure, strange feelings when you see each other when you&#x27;re rivals, it&#x27;s completely different when you finish your career.</p><p>&quot;We built amazing rivalries but I think in a good way, we fought hard for titles but were good colleagues and respected one another...</p><p>&quot;It means a lot that you&#x27;re all here. I really enjoyed a lot pushing myself to the limit every single day to compete with all of you.&quot;</p><p>Nadal hung up his racquet following the 2024 Davis Cup Finals in Malaga, initially denying him an opportunity to wave goodbye to his adoring fans in Paris.</p><p>His tally of 14 victories at a single Grand Slam appears unlikely to be beaten, with Margaret Court&#x27;s 11 Australian Open titles second on the all-time list.</p><p>Nadal was presented with a special trophy commemorating his French Open record, with a mark of his footprint carved into the clay.</p><p>The 22-time Grand Slam champion received a send-off after his final match at the Davis Cup, but French tennis federation chief Gilles Moretton said earlier this year that &quot;the tribute was not, in my opinion, what it should have been&quot;.</p><p>He said he had gone to visit Nadal at his home in December along with Roland Garros tournament director Amelie Mauresmo to discuss plans for Sunday&#x27;s ceremony.</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div>

<p>Rafael Nadal was given a rousing reception as the 'King of Clay' stepped onto Court Philippe Chatrier for the final time on Sunday in a ceremony to celebrate his career at the French Open.</p>

Rafael Nadal was given a rousing reception as the 'King of Clay' stepped onto Court Philippe Chatrier for the final time on Sunday in a ceremony to celebrate his career at the French Open.

Roland Garros pays tribute to retired 'King of Clay' Rafa Nadal

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Traffic

Manila

Horoscope

Sports

Roland Garros pays tribute to retired 'King of Clay' Rafa Nadal

Agence France-Presse,

Jed Court

Published May 26, 2025 02:17 AM PHT

Read More:

abssports

tennis

French Open

Roland Garros

Rafael Nadal

King of Clay

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.