The last shirt Rafael Nadal played singles tennis in on the clay courts of Paris will be auctioned by February 1 with an opening bid of $5,000.
Rafael Nadal made the centre court at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris his home. On the court, actually named Philippe-Chatrier, Rafa celebrated 14 French Open titles, a record.
This shirt, being sold by Prestige Memorabila, is not from one of those wins, but it is a poignant memorial to a player-tournament link like no other in tennis.
The red shirt is a Spanish Olympic team uniform that Nadal wore the last time he played Novak Djokovic, losing to the Serbian player in the first round of the Olympics tennis tournament.
Nadal was a torch bearer as the 2024 games opened. He fought his way to the quarter finals alongside Carlos Alcaraz.
Photomatching finds small details that can be shown on the item for sale and pictures of it in action. Image courtesy of Prestige Memorabilia.
Prestige say: “[the] shirt, worn by Nadal during both the last Olympic singles match of his career and the last match of the longest tennis rivalry in history, stands as a rare and powerful relic from one of sport’s most celebrated champions.”
The shirt has been photomatched to the game and is also custom made for the player, compete with the phrase: “Engineered to the exact specifications of Rafael Nadal,” in the neck.
Prestige describe the Nadal v Djokovic rivalry “tennis’ most extensive” ever.
The two played each other 60 times, 10 times more than any other pairing.
Nadal played an astonishing 118 matches at Roland Garros while he notched up 14 titles. He also held two Olympic gold medals, the 2008 singles title and a 2016 doubles win.
Nadal is probably the most collectible player in tennis history.
The most expensive tennis shirt ever sold was Nadal’s 2005 French Open winning uniform. It made $113,000 in 2024. The most valuable ever tennis racket was Carlos Alcaraz’s Wimbledon win of 2023. That made $173,066. Both sales were at Prestige.
