Iga Swiatek will cry while watching Rafael Nadal's tribute at French Open

Poland’s Iga Swiatek has stated that she will ‘cry’ if she will get to see tribute to Spain’s Rafael Nadal. The 38-year-old, who is regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of men’s tennis in the singles category in the Open era, having won as many as 22 Grand Slam titles, is set to receive a tribute for his services in the upcoming French Open.

The second Grand Slam of the year will begin on Sunday, and players from all over the world will participate to showcase their talent and secure the ultimate prize. Nadal remains the most successful player in the competition's history, having won it 14 times, which is why he is also known as the ‘King of Clay’.

Interestingly, Nadal’s last Grand Slam title also came while playing at the Roland Garros back in 2022, where he defeated Norway’s Casper Ruud in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-3, 6-0. Reigning world number five in women’s tennis, Swiatek spoke to the media ahead of the competition and expressed her desire to watch Nadal’s tribute. The 23-year-old, who is defending her title in the women’s singles category this year, stated that she is aware of the fact that she will cry once she looks at the tribute paid to one of the all-time greats of the game.

“I really want to watch it. I’ll see what the schedule looks like for Monday,” she said. “If I’m gonna play on Monday and everything. I need to be aware of that for sure I’m gonna cry. So we need to play it wisely. I would love to be there. We should all kind of get together and celebrate Rafa and what he did for our sport. What kind of inspiration he was and still is. It means a lot to me. So I would love to be there. We will see about the schedule.”