He certainly left his indelible mark in Paris. A larger-than-life statue was erected near an entrance to the tournament grounds in 2021, while he was still active; a ceremony honoring him will be held Sunday in the main stadium, Court Philippe-Chatrier, after the first three matches of Day 1.

Rafael Nadal said a tearful farewell as Roland Garros paid tribute to its greatest champion on Sunday as play got underway at the 2025 French Open.

Novak Djokovic has huffed, puffed, grimaced, groaned, complained about crowd disrespect and hobbled on an injured foot through to the third round of the French Open before admitting motivation had become his greatest opponent since ‘part of me left with him’ when Rafael Nadal retired.