Nadal sheds tears as Paris pays homage to King of Clay
There was tennis apparently going on somewhere out there at Roland Garros...
It's just you may never have known, such was the extraordinary outpouring of emotion engendered by the scene-stealing return of Rafa Nadal to his Philippe Chatrier kingdom on Sunday, complete with tears, cheers and a reunion for the sport's 'Fab Four'.
So it was that Rafa's old one-man show, now all sober and besuited with not a bandana in sight, was enough to effortlessly eclipse all the action going on around the outside courts, and why wouldn't it?
The 'King of Clay' had retired last year, but to his Roland Garros disciples, that was simply unbearable.
He could never be replaced, and here was one last chance for them to salute their blessed Rafa with a special ceremony two decades exactly to the day he first walked on to the centre court for a match against Xavier Malisse that launched sport's most freakish monopoly.
And, of course, Roland Garros did it in style, unveiling its unique and permanent tribute to the great man - his footprint set into the clay of the court - while 10,000, dolled up in their clay-coloured 'Merci Rafa' T-shirts, paid homage.
And amid it all, the ever humble 14-time champ himself couldn't possibly survive this mass onslaught of love and, after watching a real weepie of a film outlining his unreal French Open domination from sleeveless teen to balding warrior, the tears inevitably came.
"Merci beaucoup," he spluttered. "I don't know where to start after playing on that court for the last 20 years, after enjoying, suffering, winning, losing and especially after having felt so many feelings every time I've had the chance to be here."
Cue more roars as his adopted home saluted their most beloved visitor. "Merci la France, merci Paris," he said. "You have given me emotions and moments I could never have imagined."
A day to remember 🧡#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/r4RQruQbbV
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 25, 2025
He was joined on court by Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Roger Federer, sport's most famous boy band back together, while in the stands, reigning champs Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek applauded, doubtless relieved they'd managed to snag a ticket.
Elsewhere, the big hitters weren't let loose around the grounds, as if to leave the stage free for just one man, but of the post-Nadal-era contenders, eighth seed Lorenzo Musetti best looked the part as he pounded German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann 7-5 6-2 6-0.
There was a distinct US flavour to proceedings with No.12 seed Tommy Paul beating Dane Elmer Moller 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 6-3 6-1 and 15th seed Frances Tiafoe downing Roman Safiullin 6-4 7-5 6-4.
The last word, though, of course had to go to Nadal on a day like this. Talking of his old foes who had come to salute him, he said of Federer, Djokovic and Murray: "It's a great message for the world that the toughest rivalries probably in the history of our sport are able to be good colleagues, to respect each other.
"You don't need to hate the opponent to try to beat him with all your forces."
No sentiment seemed to sum up the man better.
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