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Nadal faces the toughest of starts to potentially his final Roland Garros campaign.
CNN
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It might be the last dance for the ‘King of Clay.’
In what could be his final French Open appearance ever, Rafael Nadal is set to take on world No. 4 Alexander Zverev in the first round of the tournament on Monday.
Regarded as the greatest clay court player ever, the 37-year-old Nadal has struggled with injuries across the last three seasons and said last year that he expected 2024 to be his final campaign on the ATP Tour.
Nadal and Zverev are currently scheduled in the third match of the day on Court Philippe Chatrier – Roland Garros’ showpiece venue – and the contest is slated to begin around 8:30 a.m. ET, per the ATP Tour.
US viewers will be able to watch the entirety of the match on the Tennis Channel. NBC and streaming service Peacock begin their Monday coverage of the French Open at 11 a.m. ET.
European viewers can catch the action on Eurosport, which like CNN is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.
Nadal has won Roland Garros 14 times – the most of any player by a comfortable margin – and possesses an incredible 112-3 record at the tournament.
“You win it five times, that’s a lot,” tennis great Boris Becker recently told CNN Sport. “You win it 10 times, it’s impossible. Nadal’s won it 14 times. I don’t know any other record in any other sport that equals that.”
Currently blocking his path towards an unthinkable 15th title though is former world No. 2 Zverev, widely tipped as one of the favorites to win the tournament in Paris.
The German is a proficient clay court player and is fresh off winning his sixth Masters 1000 title in Rome earlier this month. He has struggled against Nadal in the past, however, holding a 3-7 record against the legendary Spaniard. The last meeting between the pair came in the French Open semifinals in 2022, where Zverev suffered an ankle injury that sidelined him for the rest of the year.
Though speculation remains rampant that this could be the last time Nadal appears at Roland Garros as an active player, the 22-time grand slam singles champion told the media that he was not willing to close the door on competing in 2025.
“It’s a big, big chance that it’s going to be my last Roland Garros, but if I have to tell you it’s 100 percent my last Roland Garros, sorry, but I will not because I cannot predict what’s going on – I hope you understand,” he said ahead of the tournament.