French Tennis Federation planning epic Rafael Nadal tribute at Roland-Garros

Rafael Nadal did not got get a proper sendoff upon his retirement from tennis.

That may change in 2025.

Gilles Moretton, president of the French Tennis Federation, said in an interview with Europe 1 radio station earlier this week that a substantial tribute — the details of which have not yet been revealed — to Nadal is being planned. It will take place sometime during the 2025 Roland-Garros tournament, which is scheduled for May 25-June 8.

“There will, necessarily, be something for Rafael Nadal,” Moretton assured. “I’m to giving away any secrets, but (it will be) a very big tribute. A real tribute; very important. We are [committed] to it. The (Davis Cup) tribute (in 2024) was not really the one that we should have paid him. We were ready last year (at Roland-Garros), [but] he wasn’t ready. He was still a player. There will be a great moment at Roland-Garros in 2025.”

“We went to see him at home, at the beginning of December — with (tournament director) Amelie Mauresmo — to talk to him about this tribute that we will organize for him, and talked to him about the future.”

Nadal is a 14-time Roland-Garros champion with a 112-4 lifetime record at the clay-court major. He won 22 Grand Slam titles overall. The Spaniard lost to Alexander Zverev in the first round in Paris last year, but at the time he was not entirely certain about his playing future.

Six months later, Nadal retired at the Davis Cup Finals — where it was another tricky situation. Although Nadal was confirmed to be playing his last event that week, it was unclear in which matches he would play and how far Spain would advance. As it turned out, the Spaniards lost right away to the Netherlands — with Nadal dropping his singles rubber against Botic van de Zandschulp.

The result was a relative anticlimactic ceremony for which some Spanish legends were present but was otherwise lightly attended and hastily put together. Novak Djokovic would have been there if Spain had advanced, but the immediate loss did not give the Serb time to travel to Malaga.

“I saw the video (of the ceremony),” Djokovic noted. “I don’t know; I don’t know if Rafa maybe didn’t want to make too much of a fuss about it in order not to bother other teams (and) matches. I don’t know, to be honest, but I feel bad that I wasn’t there… The ceremony, if you want my opinion, wasn’t done properly. Maybe Rafa himself wasn’t sure whether he would play or not, (or) if he can play some more. And then maybe it was too late to do something bigger. I don’t know, really.”

“The feeling we are all left with is a bit scruffy and shabby,” added Nadal’s coach, Carlos Moya. “We knew months in advance that [when] Spain lost, Rafa would retire. Nadal is far above all this.”

Moretton and the FFT are clearly of the same mindset. And they will make amends this spring in Paris.

You might also like this

Health, life without tennis, rivalry with Federer and Djokovic: Nadal discusses retirement

tennis majors

“I’ve already prepared my future” – Nadal reveals post-retirement goal to promote tennis among youth

tennis majors

Netflix announces Rafael Nadal docuseries in 2025

tennis majors