14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal to be honoured with Roland Garros ceremony

Rafael Nadal will be honoured with a ceremony at the French Open on Sunday May 25th, it has been confirmed during the pre tournament press conference with tournament director Amelie Mauresmo.

Nadal will be honoured on Court Philippe-Chatrier after the three matches of the day session. The 14-time champion who made the tournament his own decided against a ceremony last year due to still being an active player.

He wasn't sure what the future held and while he retired at the end of last season at the Davis Cup, he didn't feel right in terms of having the ceremony at that time but the Spaniard was already confirmed by FFT president Gilles Moretton to get an epic tribute earlier in the year. That is now confirmed.

“There will, necessarily, be something for Rafael Nadal, a very big tribute,” Gilles Moretton, the president of the French Tennis Federation, said to Europe 1 radio earlier this year.

“A real tribute, very important. We are attached to it. The [Davis Cup] tribute was not really the one that we had to pay him [respect]. We were ready last year and he wasn’t ready, he was still a player.

“We went to see him at home, at the beginning of December, with Amélie Mauresmo to talk to him about this tribute that we will organize for him, and talked to him about the future.”

Mary Pierce and Richard Gasquet will also be celebrated. The former with a celebration of the 25th anniversary of her Roland Garros titles as well as her induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. While Gasquet will receive a tribute following his last match as he is set to retire at the Grand Slam.

Prize Money has also increased with a total prize pool of €56.352 million, this has gone up 5.21% compared to last year.