Rafael Nadal to be honoured at Roland Garros on opening day of 2025 edition

The planned tribute to Rafael Nadal will take place on Court Philippe-Chatrier on May 25.

French Open organisers will be honouring 14-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal on May 25, the day the curtains go up for the clay-court major.

The ceremony is to take place at the conclusion of the day session, according to tournament director Amelie Mauresmo. 

The Spaniard’s last match on the iconic red clay took place on May 27, 2024, with the game ending in a first-round loss to Alexander Zverev resulting in Nadal’s earliest exit from the tournament. His other unexpectedly early exit was at the 2009 edition, when he lost in the fourth round to Robin Soderling. The 38-year-old last lifted the Roland Garros trophy in 2022.

The Mallorcan turned down the planned tribute last season as he hoped to extend his professional career by another year. The announcement to pay tribute to one of the greatest clay court players in the Open Era was put forth on the official Roland Garros social media channels. 

Nadal and Roland Garros are inseparable, as these numbers prove. 

Rafael Nadal was 18 when he first won the Musketeers’ Cup in 2005. He would go on to win three more times for an uninterrupted run of four French Open titles between 2005 and 2008.

The Spaniard has a 112-4 win-loss record on Parisian clay, which translates into a winning percentage of 96.5%. Nadal secured 90 of those 112 wins in straight sets. 

Nadal won 39 consecutive matches between 2010 and 2015, setting a tournament record. The ‘King of Clay’ has won 24 sets at 6-0 at the venue.  Only thrice did Nadal have to play a five-setter in the French capital. The three who did so were John Isner (2011 first round), Novak Djokovic (2013 semi-finals) and Félix Auger-Aliassime (2022 fourth round). 

Also Read: Top five Rafael Nadal records that will never be broken

Four of the Spaniard’s 14 titles were won without dropping a single set – 2008, 2010, 2017 and 2020.  Seven finals were won in straight sets. Nadal can also boast ownership of an unbeaten 14-0 record in the finals at Roland Garros. 

The organisers also plan to honour 2000 women’s champion Mary Pierce and Frenchman Richard Gasquet, who has announced plans to retire after this year’s French Open. Pierce is the only Frenchwoman to have lifted the Suzanne-Lenglen Cup in the Open Era.

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