French Open hits home run with Rafael Nadal ceremony

This time, the French Tennis Federation got it right.

Granted, the FFT’s hands were tied last year in what was an awkward situation surrounding what proved to be Rafael Nadal’s final French Open appearance. Nadal had not officially announced his retirement when he played at Roland Garros 12 months ago, but everyone knew he wouldn’t be back. Tournament organizers understandably weren’t sure how to handle it, and the result was an unceremonious end to Nadal’s French Open career following a first-round loss to Alexander Zverev.

Fast forward to 2025 and an official farewell to Nadal was a ceremony that will not be forgotten.

The FFT delivered on Sunday with a video tribute, an open mic for Nadal to say whatever he wanted, a trophy–yes, another one to go along with the 14 he already has–that lists all the years in which he lifted La Coupe des Mousquetaires, and a plaque with Nadal’s footprint that will remain in the clay by the side of the net as long as Court Philippe-Chatrier is standing. Most importantly, the ceremony was attended by Nadal’s family (parents, wife, son, sister, Uncle Toni, and more) in addition to past and present players such as Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Lucas Pouille, and Juan Carlos Ferrero. Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray were not only in attendance but also joined Nadal on the court.

And, of course, there had to be MC Marc Maury welcoming the King of the Clay to the court with his famous introduction–reading off all the years of his French Open titles.

Nadal, who compiled a ridiculous 112-4 lifetime record at Roland Garros, was most emotional while addressing Toni–his longtime coach.

“Toni, you are the reason why I am here,” the Spaniard said. “Thank you for giving up a large part of your life to want to be with me. Training, talking, making me suffer, making me laugh, and also bringing me to my limits. What we have lived was not always easy, but without any doubt, it was worth it.”

Unlike at the 2024 French Open and the 2024 Davis Cup Finals (where Nadal played his last match), his biggest rivals were there–just like they were for Federer when the Swiss retired at the 2022 Laver Cup.

“Now it is all about being happy about everything that we achieved,” Nadal told Federer, Djokovic, and Murray. “In the end we all achieved our dreams. We became tennis players and played in the most important stages. I think we built amazing rivalries and in a good way. I think we showed the world we could fight as hard as possible but in a good way. Good colleagues, who respect each other.

“You gave me some hard times on courts but I really enjoyed it a lot, pushing myself to the limit every day to compete with all of you. At the end, tennis is just a game but we understand that at the end, it is only a game. So all of you here means everything. It is a great message to the world that we can be good friends even if we had the best rivalries.”

Full ceremony: