By Erik Gudris | @atntennis | Sunday, May 25, 2025
The “King of Clay,” Rafael Nadal enjoyed a tribute ceremony in Paris with family, fans, and friendly rivals Roger Federer, Andy Murray, and Novak Djokovic.
Photo credit: Franco Arland/Getty.
In a royal ceremony benefiting the “King of Clay,” Rafael Nadal returned to Roland-Garros to enjoy a festive and moving tribute to his incredible achievements on the famed terre battue of Paris.
Nadal, who officially retired from tennis in 2024, returned to the site of his legendary 14 Roland-Garros singles titles to receive accolades from the 15,000-plus crowd, all wearing special red “Merci Rafa” t-shirts.
That included many current and former players, including reigning singles champions Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek.
Nadal paid tribute to all those who helped and supported him over the years by speaking in French, English, and then Spanish.
When thanking his family and long-time coach and uncle Toni Nadal, he said, “Thank you for having dedicated a huge part of your life to being with me. Talking, training, winning, making me suffer and pushing me to my limits. What we have lived was never easy, but without a doubt, it was worth it.”
Nadal later thanked Paris and the French crowd for their support over the years, including at last year’s Paris Summer Olympics where he was one of the final torch bearers in the Opening Ceremony.
“Thank you France, thank you Paris! You have given me emotions and moments that I could never have imagined. You cannot know how gratifying it is to feel loved, appreciated, in the place that matters the most to you.”
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After recognizing many of those who worked behind the scenes at the event over many years, the highlight of the tribute came next with the reunion of the “Big Four” on court.
Former rivals Roger Federer, Andy Murray, and Novak Djokovic entered to another rapturous ovation as they joined the celebration of Nadal’s legacy in Paris.
“We all achieved our dreams, becoming tennis players and built amazing rivalries in a good way. We showed the world that we could fight as hard as possible in a good way, as good colleagues, respecting each other very well,” Nadal said to each of them.
“It means so much that all of you are here. You gave me some hard times on court, but I really enjoyed it a lot, pushing myself to the limit every day to compete with all of you. At the end of the day, tennis is just a game. Sometimes we feel it a little bit more. What that means, for me, that all of you are here, is everything. It’s a great message to the world that we can be great friends even after having the best rivalries. “Thank you for everything over all these years. Our legacy will always be there for sure.”
After that, Nadal first received a special trophy from the French Tennis Federation. Then the biggest surprise of all came when a special plaque on the court was revealed bearing Nadal’s footprint, the number “14”, and an image of the men’s trophy.
The plaque, memorializing Nadal’s achievements, will remain forever. The sight of it moved Nadal once again to tears. Nadal then took one more final long victory lap around the court to yet another extended standing ovation.
Feeling the emotion and love from the crowd helped him smile through the tears.
He later reached up and took hold of his young son, Rafael Jr., to enjoy the moment with him. They each took a final wave to the crowd, before walking out into tennis immortality.