Rafael Nadal tribute shirts explode on secondary market
Rafael Nadal, the 14-time French Open champion, was honored Sunday in a ceremony at Roland Garros. (Credit: Getty Images)
Merci Rafa. For the tournaments, the memories ... and the $500 T-shirts?
Rafael Nadal, owner of a record 14 French Open championships, was honored at Roland Garros on Sunday, the first day of the calendar's second Grand Slam.
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The tournament honored its greatest champion in a number of ways, including an everlasting footprint on Court Philippe-Chatrier, Roland Garros' center court, a trophy that says "Roland Garros Legend" with his signature and in-person tributes from Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, the other members of the "Big Four."
But perhaps the most notable was the T-shirt that everyone in the crowd wore, which said "Merci Rafa", as a variety of shades of red littered Chatrier.
The "Merci Rafa" shirt became a coveted collectible from the first day of the 2025 French Open. (Credit: Getty Images)
The color of the shit was meant to mimic the clay, and the varying shades spread throughout the audience formed a giant mosaic that spelled out "Rafa" and "RG14", celebrating his 14 titles in Paris.
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Nadal left such a legacy in Paris, he even — despite being Spanish — was an official torchbearer at the 2024 Olympic Games in the City of Lights. It's an honor that almost always is exclusively set aside for athletes of the host country.
In addition to the shirts' messages, they also displayed the date of the tribute, "25.05.2025."
And within minutes of the conclusion of Sunday's tribute, the floodgates opened on the secondary market.
The most notable and expensive listings came via Vinted, a Lithuanian online marketplace. Some shirts were listed for as much as 561 Euros, equivalent to $633 USD.
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French Tennis Federation president Gilles Moretton told the Associated Press he was stunned by the prices.
"Some of the prices I saw scared me," he said Monday. "It's a bit sad to see people profit off the 'Merci Rafa' shirts. We weren't going to collect them after the ceremony. We created something unique — and maybe that uniqueness explains why this is happening."
Moretton told the AP he did not receive a shirt himself, though he is looking for one.
"But I'm not about to go on Vinted," he said.
Matt Liberman is a reporter and video producer for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture.
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