Rafael Nadal honored at French Open following retirement
Tennis legend and Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal was honored at the French Open over the weekend after retiring from the sport last year following a decadeslong career.
Nadal, who earned 14 French Open titles over the years, starting with his tournament debut in 2005 at the age of 19, was commemorated at a farewell ceremony in Paris on Sunday, taking to Roland-Garros' famed Court Philippe-Chatrier in a dark suit and matching shirt to a standing ovation.
He was joined on the court by longtime competitors and friends Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, whom he thanked for their "amazing rivalries" and respect, despite being "tough" competition.
"After all these years fighting for everything, you know, it's unbelievable how the time changed the perspective of everything ... all these nerves, pressure, strange feelings that you feel when you see each other when you are rivals, it's completely different when you finish your career," Nadal said, speaking alongside his former opponents. "I mean, at the end now, it's all about being happy about everything that we achieved. At the end, we all of us achieved our dreams."
"You gave me some hard times on the court, honestly," he added, laughing. "But I really enjoyed it a lot, pushing myself to the limit every single day to compete with all of you."
Nadal holds a 112-4 French Open record, and is considered one of the greatest clay court players of all time. In October, after more than two decades in the sport, which included 92 ATP-level singles titles and a Career Golden Slam -- all four major titles and an Olympic gold medal -- he announced he would be retiring the following month after the Davis Cup Finals in Málaga, Spain, his home country.
"The reality is that it has been some difficult years, these last two especially," he said in a video announcement on social media at the time. "I don't think I have been able to play without limitations. It is obviously a difficult decision, one that has taken me some time to make … and I think it is the appropriate time to put an end to a career that has been long and much more successful than I could have ever imagined."
Nadal's family attended his farewell ceremony on Sunday, sitting amid a sea of rust-colored T-shirts -- identical in color to the famed Philippe-Chatrier clay -- which read, "MERCI RAFA." The tennis icon at one point brought his son Rafael Jr. down onto the court with him, holding the toddler as he waved to the cheering crowd.
"At the end, tennis is just a game," he said in his speech. "Sometimes we feel a little bit more, but I think we understand that at the end of the day, it's really only a game."
Speaking to his former competitors, he added, "So what that means for me, that all of you are here, is everything. That's a great message to the world too, that we can be good friends, even if we had the best rivalries ... I really hope, and I'm sure that we will continue doing positive things for our sport in the future. Without a doubt, our legacy is there, but we need to keep building things that helps tennis to keep growing, and I'm sure we will make beautiful things together."
French Tennis Federation President Gilles Moretton and French Open tournament director Amelie Mauresmo unveiled a courtside plaque at the close of Sunday's ceremony, a white rectangle bearing Nadal's footprint and name, as well as the number 14 -- a tally of Nadal's French Open victories -- and an illustration of the Coupe des Mousquetaires, the trophy awarded to the annual tournament winner.
"Your footprints will stay here forever," the announcer stated.
