Rafael Nadal broke down in tears during an emotional reunion with Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic at the French Open on Sunday.
Nadal entered retirement from tennis last year with a special ceremony held on the opening day of Roland-Garros 2025 to celebrate the Spaniard.
The ‘King of Clay’ won a record 14 men’s singles titles at the iconic Grand Slam tournament and was seen crying on Court Philippe Chatrier in Paris.
Nadal got emotional while watching a tribute video as the crowd erupted and began to sing to him with adoring fans wearing clay-coloured shirts.
Roland-Garros then honoured Nadal with a trophy which featured the word ‘Legend’ with every year he won engraved, finished off with his signature.
French Open organisers also revealed that a plaque of Nadal’s footprint will forever stay on Court Philippe Chatrier to immortalise the tennis icon.
‘When I saw it, I thought it would only be for this year,’ Nadal said about his footprint plaque. ‘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.’
Nadal dominated tennis for two decades with fellow Big Four legends Federer, Murray and Djokovic, who were all present at Sunday’s ceremony.
‘It’s amazing how dominant he has been here,’ Federer said. ‘He is so incredible, and I am so happy that he got the plaque forever, not just for a year or something like that.
‘And I think it meant a lot to Rafa. So, I am very honoured that I had the chance to play against Rafa on this court.’
Murray added: ‘I thought they did it really well. I thought the plaque on the side of the court was brilliant. I think he deserved that.
‘It was great for me to be out there with those guys again. I hadn’t seen Roger or Rafa for quite a while. Obviously Novak, I have spent some time with him the last few months!
‘But I thought they did a great job. I thought he spoke really, really well too considering going through multiple languages.
‘I think at one stage the speech got blown away by the wind. I thought he spoke really, really well. I think with those things, it clearly meant a lot to him and he was really happy with it. I thought it was really good.’
Djokovic is the only Big Four tennis superstar still active and admits it’s been tough for him to stay motivated since Nadal entered retirement.
‘For me, it’s been very difficult to stay motivated to compete after his retirement,’ Djokovic said.
‘Honestly, I didn’t think it would affect me this way, but I feel like a part of me has gone with him, and it’s been a huge challenge for me to regain the joy on the court and the strength to continue competing.
‘When Rafa left tennis, I felt something I’d never experienced before. I thought, ‘What do I do now?’ On the court, I’ve felt discouraged, but luckily, I’ve found other things that inspire me to continue, and after six months, I can say that I feel much better.’
Current French Open champions Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek were seen wearing ‘Merci Rafa’ shirts in the crowd at Nadal’s Roland-Garros tribute, with the latter bringing tissues with her to wipe away tears.