Nadal
Tennis legend Rafael Nadal, aka "The King of Clay," holds the record for most Grand Slam titles won by a male player on clay with a record-breaking 14 at the French Open (starting with his debut in 1982, giving him a record 97% win rate). Alongside his record number of French Open titles, he is the most successful player in the ATP tour events of Monte-Carlo and Barcelona, with 11 and 12 titles respectively.
On Sunday, May 25, 2025, Rafael Nadal was feted at the iconic Court Philippe-Chatrier in Roland-Garros, Paris - his stomping ground where he crushed anybody and everybody, winning an unbelievable 14 times. A fact now recorded for posterity by having his footprint displayed permanently on the centre court.
Choking back tears, Nadal declared, "When I saw it, I thought it would only be for this year. When they told me it would be forever, I can't describe my emotions. It's a great honour. I was thrilled to know it would be present on the most important court of my career".
Rafa on being surprised to see Federer, Djokovic and Murray at his retirement ceremony at the 2025 Paris Open, “To have my 3 biggest rivals there on the court with me meant a lot. It was a great message for the world, I think. the fact that some of the toughest rivalries probably in the history of our sport can be good colleagues, to respect each other, even though you try to try to beat him with all your force. That’s the message we showed people. You don’t need to hate the opponent to try to beat him with all your force. We showed the new generations. In some way, that’s our legacy. The results are there. But at the same time, results are just results. The rest of the things are what stays.”
Roger Federer said, "It was perfect! Did I shed a tear/ Almost, especially when I greeted Rafa, because I could feel how deeply touched he was by the ceremony."
Novak Djokovic had this to add, "When Rafa left tennis, I felt something I never experienced before. I thought, 'What do I do now?' But today It was a beautiful moment. One of the nicest moments I’ve experienced in this court. Walking into the court with Federer and Murray, and being there for Nadal. Experiencing all the glory of the celebration of his career, we’re all happy for him because he absolutely deserved it. I felt like last year’s Roland Garros, he didn’t know whether he was the last one or not. I didn’t feel like he was getting a proper farewell even at the Davis Cup. I think this was a very fitting goodbye for such a legend.”
Rafa Nadal on why the Big Four (Federer, Djokovic, Murray and Nadal) was such a unique and challenging rivalry, "One of us would invariably always win the tournament. That fact never allowed us to relax; it never gave us a break. We were 3 or 4 of the best rivals. In some ways, when there are only two rivals, you can lose a bit of motivation, especially when the other starts losing or gets injured. But here, being four, you never had that. It never allowed us to stay relaxed or to give us a break in terms of intensity or determination to keep improving our game. So I think between us, we showed ourselves the way forward, to be better and better. And we achieved our dreams probably because of that kind of rivalry. We raised tennis to the next level. And that helps the next generations to try to improve as well. I’m sure that’s going to happen.”
Nadal's Tennis Legacy
Nadal’s Parisian legacy was secured when a statue of him was unveiled at Roland-Garros in 2021, while he played his last Olympic match on the Court Philippe-Chatrier in Paris in May 2024.
Nadal has held the world number one ranking for a total of 209 weeks, spanning three decades - earning the unique distinction of being the only player to be world number one in three separate decades.
Nadal has played a key role in Spain's Davis Cup success, contributing to five title wins. Nadal competed at four Olympic Games across 20 years for Spain, bringing home gold at Beijing 2008 in the men’s singles event. Nadal won his second gold medal in men’s doubles at Rio 2016, going all the way to gold alongside Marc Lopez. He was also the Spanish flagbearer at the Opening Ceremony.
The Spaniard also featured in the Opening Ceremony at Paris 2024, where he surprised fans by receiving the torch from French football legend Zinedine Zidane as well as being one of the Torchbearers on the river Seine.
He has also won 36 ATP Masters 1000 titles, an Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and 92 overall ATP Tour singles titles.
Sources:
- https://www.olympics.com/en/news/rafael-nadal-stats-numbers-titles-records-medals-awards-list
- https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6381408/2025/05/25/rafael-nadal-roland-garros-ceremony-tennis-big-four/
Comments
The classic French Open Claret and footprint were an obvious focus point
I was happy with the outcome. So glad you liked it - Kieran