Rafael Nadal, the 'King of Clay,' honored in ceremony at Roland-Garros on first day of 2025 French Open

Rafael Nadal was greeted with cheers and standing ovation by the crowd at Roland-Garros. (Photo by Franco Arland/Getty Images)

Franco Arland via Getty Images

With the 2025 French Open kicking off on Sunday, it was only right to honor the King of Clay.

Rafael Nadal, a 14-time French Open winner, was honored at a ceremony at Roland-Garros on Sunday. The Spanish tennis champ retired at the end of the 2024 after more than two decades on the pro circuit.

The crowd greeted Nadal with loud applause and a standing ovation in his first return to Roland-Garros since retiring. Nadal was visibly emotional as a video of his career accomplishments, and his accomplishments at the French Open, played for the audience.

Additionally, Nadal was joined at the ceremony by his friends and former rivals: tennis legends Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.

Like Nadal, Murray retired last year, playing his last match in the 2024 Paris Olympics, while Federer retired in 2022. Djokovic, however, is still going strong: He plays Mackenzie McDonald in the first round of the French Open on Tuesday as the No. 6 seed.

Nadal is known as "The King of Clay" for a reason: 14 of his 22 major titles came at Roland-Garros. The Spaniard won his first French Open in 2005, just days after his 19th birthday, before going on an unprecedented run at the tournament over the following two decades. Nadal won his final French Open in 2022, days after turning 36.

Nadal's last appearance at Roland-Garros took place at the Olympics, where he and partner Carlos Alcaraz were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the men's doubles tournament. Nadal's final game took place at the Davis Cup in November, with the event taking place in his native Spain.