French Open 2025: Rafael Nadal is celebrated at the competition
PARIS (AP)– Rafael Nadal stepped out into Court Philippe-Chatrier on Sunday to the sort of unending adulation, thunderous applause and chants of his nickname, “Rafa,” that greeted him for years as he accumulated a record 14 French Open champions, just this time he was being honored at a goodbye ceremony.Thousands of spectators gave Nadal, who retired in 2015, a standing ovation as he strode through the doorway that leads from the locker space to the playing surface area he ruled like nobody ever has in the history of tennis. Rather of that familiar headband or the tape on his fingers or the capri pants he made popular early in his profession, Nadal was using a dark fit and dark dress shirt.Advertisement He smiled broadly and waved at the crowd, which appeared to inhabit just about every seat in the 15,000-capacity venue.Nadal sheds tears during his French Open homage This all came 20 years to the
day considering that Nadal made his launching in Chatrier at age 18 with a second-round victory.As a highlight video started playing on the screens Sunday– showing those lefty bullwhip forehands, those pumped fists accompanying shouts of” Vamos!”and the ruthless racing to every inch of the court– Nadal bit his lower lip and appeared on the verge of tears, which did flow eventually. His voice cracked and he sniffled while talking in French, then English, and after that his native Spanish.Advertisement”This is difficult, “he started, in French. “Good night, everybody. I do not know where to start after using this court for the previous 20 years.
Winning, losing– however
specifically being moved each time I have actually had the chance to be here. “Nadal’s profession French Open record was 112-4 Mainly winning, obviously: His career record at the French Open was 112-4. That’s why a larger-than-life steel statue of Nadal was installed on the Roland-Garros grounds while he was still
an active player.He went 14-0 in the event’s finals, always held in Chatrier, which he called”without a doubt, the most essential court of my tennis career.”Nadal ended up with 22 Grand Slam titles in all, including at least two at each
of the sport’s most distinguished events.Advertisement Nadal, who turns 39 on June 3 and played his last competitive match at the Davis Cup last November, thanked competition organizers. His main coach, Toni, who also is his uncle. Other members of his entourage. His parents.
His wife, who stood in the front row behind one of the standards, holding their 2-year-old son. And his greatest competitors– Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray– who later on all went out together to join Nadal on the court and hug him.Federer, Djokovic and Murray appear at Nadal’s goodbye event “We showed the world that we can combat as hard as possible, but being great coworkers and respecting each other effectively. And for me, it means a lot that you are all here,” Nadal informed the players with whom he was grouped as the Big
Four of guys’s tennis.”You offered me some hard times on court, honestly, but I really took pleasure in pressing myself to the limitation every single day to take on all of you.”Fans received Tee shirts matching the rust color of the clay on the court below, with”MERCI RAFA” in white, uppercase and Sunday’s date stamped on the front. Even Carlos Alcaraz, the 22-year-old Spaniard who won last year’s French Open and is thought about Nadal’s successor obvious, used a rust-colored shirt while in the represent the ceremony.Advertisement Depending on where they were sitting, some people instead got white shirts that, when seen together, spelled out particular messages, consisting of”14 RG “beside a representation of the La Coupe des Mousquetaires trophy awarded to the men’s champion at Roland-Garros. Another part of the upper deck showed”RAFA” in between 2 hearts.A plaque was put on the court in the French Open’s primary stadium
Towards the end of the procedures, which closed with yet another ovation, Nadal was shown a brand-new plaque that’s been put near the stands on the side of the court opposite the chair umpire’s stand: It is a white rectangular shape which bears his footprint, his name,”14″and a sketch of the competition trophy.He certainly left a mark
on everybody who ever faced him, or enjoyed him contend, because stadium
. And now that arena will permanently carry his mark.Advertisement”Thank you, France. Thank you, Paris. You have provided me emotions and minutes I could never ever have actually pictured. You can never understand how gratifying it is to be valued in the location that matters most. … You made me feel like a Frenchman, “Nadal said.”I can no longer play in front of you
any longer, but my heart and my memories will always be connected to this wonderful location.” ___ AP Sports Author Jerome Pugmire contributed. ___ Howard Fendrich has actually been the AP’s
tennis author since
2002. Discover his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich. More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis