Rafael Nadal was handed a fitting tribute at the French Open on Sunday, with the Spaniard involved in a farewell ceremony in Paris.
Nadal teased a tennis comeback at his farewell ceremony, in which he was honoured after winning 14 French Open titles.
Boris Becker was left emotional by Nadal’s goodbye from Roland Garros, with no other player having come close to his trophy tally in Paris.
Current players Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz were among those in attendance, along with legendary figures Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic.
The ceremony involved various spoken tributes, but also a plaque with his footprint next to an image of the Coupe des Mousquetaires and the number fourteen at the side of the net at Philippe Chatrier.
Tennis fans call for further Rafael Nadal tribute at the French Open
But many tennis fans want a further major tribute given his efforts at the tournament over the years, with one writing on X: “They need to rename the entire damn tournament after him at this point. Rafa Nadal IS Roland Garros.”
A second commented: “Rename court to Court Rafael Nadal,” with a third saying: “Honestly, what’s this rubbish? Just rename the main court to court Rafael Nadal. He deserved it.”
A fourth tennis fan concurred, saying: “They should rename centre court from Philippe Chatrier to Rafael Nadal.”
Another went even further, noting: “This tournament’s name must be changed in honour of Rafa to Roland Rafa-Garros. The King of Clay.”
Will Roland Garros honour Rafael Nadal with court name change?
It would certainly be a fun idea from organisers to include Nadal’s name on the court, but it does seem unlikely at this stage.
Whether he would even wish for such a tribute is another matter, with the Spanish superstar having been left more than happy with his footprint plaque at Philippe Chatrier.
Moreover, there would be a danger of Nadal taking over the tennis world if such changes were commonplace thanks to his stunning achievements.
A court is already named in his honour on the ATP Tour, with the Barcelona Open renaming its centre court to Pista Rafael Nadal.
It is a fitting tribute to his record 12 titles at the event, with the King of Clay holding plenty of records like that elsewhere.
But it is the French Open that is synonymous with Nadal, who will more than likely never see another player come close to replicating his stunning 14 titles.
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