Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
The 38-year-old was celebrated at the start of the Roland Garros 2025.
The 38-year-old Spaniard was celebrated at the start of the Roland Garros 2025.
What is happening?
One of the greatest tennis players of all time, Rafael Nadal, 38, ended his career in 2024, and Sunday evening, he was celebrated on Court Philippe Chatrier in front of thousands of fans.
Immortalized with plaque
Nadal managed to witn the Roland Garros 14 times before retiring, and on Sunday, a plaque with his name was revealed on the opening day of the clay-court Grand Slam-tournament.
Joined by lifelong rivals
The biggest cheers from the stands occured when Nadals lifelong rivals, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray entered the field to celebrate him.
14 Roland Garros-titles – and then some
Rafael Nadal was known as “The King of Clay” during his career, as he was dominant on the red clay in both Roland Garros and many other tournaments.
That being said, he was so much more than that as a tennis player.
22 Grand Slam wins
Since turning pro in 2001, Rafael Nadal has managed to win a staggering 22 Grand Slam-titles.
He has won Australian Open and Wimbledon twice, and he lifted the US Open-trophy four times.
Youngest man to win Career Grand Slam
At the age of 24, Nadal had managed to win a Career Grand Slam, meaning he had won all of the four Grand Slams, though not in the same year.
He was also the first man to win majors on three different surfaces that same year (2010).
92 Career titles overall
Other than the 22 Grand Slam titles, Nadal also won 70 other tournaments throughout his career.
The total of 92 titles ranks him 5th overall in the Open Era.
81 clay wins in a row
From 2005 to 2007, Nadal managed to win 81 straight matches played on clay.
This is the longest winning-streak on a single surface in the Open Era’s men’s singles tournaments.
209 weeks as number 1
With that many career titles, it’s no surprise that Nadal also managed to become number 1 on the ATP World Ranking for men.
He managed to be number 1 for 209 weeks in total, finished five years at No. 1.
4.7 wins per loss
Nadals career record ended up being 1080-228.
This means he won more than 4.7 matches per loss.
Olympic Gold Medalist
Nadal also managed to bring home the singles Gold for Spain during the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
He also won the 2016 Rio Olympics, this time in double though.
2nd most all-time earnings
There is a lot of money to be made from playing tennis, especially if you’re as talented as Nadal.
During his career, he has earned a staggering $134,946,100, ranking him 2nd of all time (only beaten by Novak Djokovic).