Rafael Nadal received a beautiful tribute at his farewell at Roland Garros. The footprint of the fourteen-time winner of the tournament in Paris has been immortalized on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Nadal was in the spotlight on the first day of the Grand Slam tournament. The 38-year-old Spaniard addressed some 15,000 spectators on Court Philippe Chatrier and received a special trophy from tournament director Amélie Mauresmo with his fourteen victories engraved on it.
Then, a special tile was unveiled next to the net, with Nadal’s footprint. It caused emotions for the Spaniard, who dominated the gravel in Paris for almost two decades. Nadal was then hugged by his great rivals Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray, who were also present at the tribute.
Nadal immediately won the title in his Roland Garros debut in 2005. Since then, he has been allowed to hold up the trophy thirteen more times. In total, Nadal won 22 Grand Slam tournaments.
Nadal ended his career in November last year. He lost to Botic van de Zandschulp in his last appearance in front of his own audience at the Davis Cup Finals in Málaga.