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Rafa made history at Roland Garros,” said tournament director Amélie Mauresmo. “And his 14 titles will perhaps remain unequalled at any Grand Slam tournament.”
Gilles Moretton, president of the French Tennis Federation, which organises the only Grand Slam tournament on clay courts, added: “Rafael Nadal and Roland Garros is a love story.
“I think its important to put it in terms like that because he has a profound respect for the surface of clay and we have the same resepct for the player and the ambassador that he could become for our tournament and the federation.”
Nadal won the men’s singles title in 2005 a few days after turning 19 at the end of his first visit to the Roland Garros stadium.
The Spaniard retained the title the following year and added two more before a surprise loss in the last-16 of the 2009 tournament to Robin Soderling.
In the 2010 final, he avenged the defeat and notched up a run of five consecutive titles to eclipse Bjorn Bjorg’s feats of four successive trophies between 1978 and 1981.
Another run of four between 2017 and 2020 took him to 13 and he eviscerated Casper Ruud to hoist a 14th in 2022.
“We want to have a vision for the future,” Mauresmo added. “But we want to celebrate those who have thrilled us in the past. For Rafa, we want the celebration to be exceptional and special.”
The former world number one said the homage to the 38-year-old would take place on centre court at the end of the day session matches on the first.
Remuneration
There will also be ceremonies to celebrate French players Mary Pierce, who won the women’s singles title in 2000, and Richard Gasquet who will retire from the international circuit after competing at the 2025 championships.
Organisers announced a hike in prize money for the 2025 event. This year’s champions will receive 2.550,000 euros – up from last year’s purse of 2.4 million euros.
A loser in the first round will get 78,000 euros – 5,000 more than at the 2024 tournament. Players in the qualifying rounds will also benefit. A first round loser in 2025 will be paid 21,000 euros, 1,000 more than in 2024.
In a change to tradition, Mauresmo announced that there would be a break between the men’s semi-finals. The first will start at 14h30 and the second will not start before 7pm, she said.
