No ceremony for Nadal if he loses to Zverev at Roland Garros
In what will probably be his last Roland Garros, Rafael Nadal takes on Alexander Zverev in the first round this Monday afternoon. This clash, a remake of the 1st semi-final of the 2022 edition, increases the odds that the Spaniard will be eliminated outright.
An elimination that could make this the last match in Nadal's history on the clay of Roland-Garros. An event that one would expect to be marked by a ceremony worthy of Marjorquin's 14 Parisian titles. But it was not to be.
Indeed, Nadal is not certain that this will be his last Roland Garros, and he is not willing to rule out the idea of taking part in the 2025 edition. A position respected by tournament director Amélie Mauresmo and the organizers.
Nadal: "Is this my last Roland Garros? I know the question is inevitable, but I don't have the answer. Let's say there's a good chance it will be my last, but it's not 100%. Don't get me wrong: I've just been through two years of suffering and care. I'm feeling better now, but I still don't know if I'll be able to play again in full health. Give me a little time. Maybe in a month and a half, I'll say: no, I can't, I'm stopping. But today, I don't know."
Mauresmo: "As you can imagine, we had something planned for him. But ... as he doesn't know whether this will be his last Roland-Garros or not, he wants to leave the door open to come back maybe next year as a player. So we're not going to push him to do anything.
It's up to him whether he wants to have a proper ceremony, a proper farewell. So we're not going to do it this year. That's his wish. And even if we were ready to push the button if something happened, we're obviously going to respect what he wants and make sure we're ready when he wants us to be. Later in the year, next year, whenever he wants."
