The 2025 French Open is underway, and is the first edition of the tournament since 14-time champion Rafael Nadal bid farewell to the tennis world.
Nadal retired in November at the Davis Cup, and played his final match at Roland Garros last year, losing in the first round to Alexander Zverev.
Prior to that match, he had only ever been defeated three times at the event in his career, falling to Robin Soderling in 2009, and twice to Novak Djokovic in 2015 and 2021.
With a record of 112-4 at the French Open, the Spaniard remains today the greatest clay-court player of all time.
Ahead of his tribute ceremony, Nadal has returned to Paris this year and recently reflected on his highest and lowest moments at the major, including one night when he thought his career was over following a second-round match in 2022.
Nadal says he cried after the second round of Roland Garros in 2022
Nadal’s 2022 Roland Garros triumph marked the last of his 22 Grand Slam crowns, and he said it was the most ‘unexpected’ title of his career in an interview on the Roland Garros YouTube channel.
He won his opening two matches that year without dropping a set, but a second-round match with Corentin Moutet caused some issues with his foot.
Recalling what happened that day, he said: “We decided to put some injections of anaesthesia on the foot to try to sleep the foot.
“I finished the match with Moutet, winning, but immediately after the match I remember coming back to the hotel and I could not put my foot on the floor. I was crying, I remember very well crying at 5 in the morning on the bed, thinking that my career was over and also Roland Garros of course.
“But then, in the morning, I was talking with my doctor and we found a way to sleep the nerve. Because of that solution, we were able to go the whole way to the final.”
Rafael Nadal says what didn’t surprise him about his final match at Roland Garros
The Spanish legend said of his last dance on Court Philippe Chatrier with Zverev in 2022: “I wanted to give myself a chance to, let’s not say that’s going to be my last tournament, but of course there was a big percentage.
“But, that day against Sascha has been… It’s unforgettable. I had my chances, I enjoyed the game, playing there, it’s always going to be impossible to describe the feeling.
“The crowd was huge, the support I received. But I had that feeling for a long time so it didn’t surprise me. Every time that I was playing at Roland Garros the support of the people was highest as possible.
“At the end of my career, I said it at the beginning but I want to say it again, to feel the love of the people in the most important place for me, and in the place that I love the most, is something that makes me feel happy. It’s impossible to describe the emotions that I’m feeling.”
A new era without the Spanish legend is now upon us at the French Open, as the 2025 tournament gets underway.
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