Big 4 meets Nadal’s farewell in Paris | ATP Tour

2025

Big 4 meets Nadal’s farewell in Paris

Nadal received Federer’s company, Djokovic and Murray this Sunday at Philippe Chatrier

May 25, 2025

Roland Garros prostrated this Sunday at the foot of Rafael Nadal, the man who marked an unprecedented era in Paris, raising an empire for eternity with the 14 glasses of the musketeers who conquered throughout his career.

The Spanish, who hung the withdrawal in November last year, returned to the Philippe Chatrier to receive the love and thanks of world tennis, on the stage where he built one of the great pillars of his legend.

Ancient No. 1 of the PIF ATP Rankings wanted to thank all the figures who have occupied an important role in his career during the ceremony. But the emotional load of the evening amounted significantly when the main stadium screen of Roland Garros projected a video, where its great rivals would be sent to you a farewell message.

“Hi Rafa, after all these years and those battles, we couldn’t leave it like this,” Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray pronounced in the tribute video. “We wanted to leave you a message and let you know that your old friends will always be with you.”

An interference resulted in the most anticipated surprise: Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, the players with whom he probably wrote the best rivalry of all time – known as Big 4 – agreed to the track to merge into a hug with the Manacorí.

🧡🧡🧡🧡@RafaelNadal | @rolandgarros | #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/375QYrllZL

– ATP Tour en Español (@atppour_es) May 25, 2025

“After all these years fighting for everything, it is incredible how time changes the perspective of everything,” Nadal confessed to Federer, Djokovic and Murray. “You still don’t know, Novak, you probably know, Andy, but with Roger, we have talked about it several times. All those nerves, the pressure, the sensations when you see the other when it is your rival, it is completely different when you finish your career.”

The only one that is kept active is Djokovic, who with 38 years old, will participate as serial head No. 6 in this edition of Roland Garros. Both Federer, in 2022, and Murray, in 2024, said goodbye to ATP Tour recently.

“Now it’s about being happy for everything we have achieved. In the end, we have reached our dreams. We were tennis players and played in the most important stages. I think we had incredible rivalries and in a good way. I think we show the world that we can fight as hard as possible but in good way. Good companions, which are respected,” Nadal continued towards his companions of Big 4.

“You made me spend difficult moments on track, but I really enjoyed, they took me to the limit every day to compete against you. In the end, tennis is just a sport but we understood that in the end, it is just a game. So having them here means everything. It is a great message to the world that we can be good friends, even having had the best rivalries.”