Fact-check: Is Rafael Nadal in the top 10 favorites to win French Open 2025 despite retirement? Looking into the viral claim
Rafael Nadal has retired from tennis, but that hasn't stopped fans from yearning to see him play one more time at the venue which has brought him most success, Stade Roland Garros. A social media post recently went viral for claiming that the Spaniard has higher odds of winning the 2025 French Open than several current top 10 players.
Rafael Nadal played his last Roland Garros this year, losing to fourth seed Alexander Zverev in the first round of the tournament, 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3. However, despite speculation of his retirement, it was not officially announced that 2024 would be the Spaniard's final appearance in Paris when he lost to Zverev.
At the end of October, the 22-time Grand Slam champion announced that he would retire at the end of the season and bid farewell to tennis at the Davis Cup Finals. A few weeks later, fans have continued to reminisce about the 37-year-old's legacy, with one post recently going viral.
Recently, a fan shared a graphic on social media platform X showing the odds favorite to win next year's French Open. Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, World No. 1 Jannik Sinner, and 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic topped the odds chart.
Nadal also appeared on the list at #7 with +2500 odds, ahead of Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, and Holger Rune. The fan was shocked by the chart, noting that Nadal is still among the favorites to win Roland Garros next year despite having called time on his career.
"Only Rafael Nadal could literally retire and still be 7th favorite to win Roland Garros in 2025," the fan wrote alongside the chart.
At the time of writing, the tweet has garnered nearly 250,000 views. However, the information is inaccurate, as the chart in question was taken from an article published by the online publication Sports Betting Dime on June 11, 2024, right after the conclusion of this year's French Open.
At the time, it was not official that the Spaniard would retire at the end of the year, and fans hoped that he would compete at Roland Garros again in 2025. So, his place in the odds chart made sense. However, the comment attached to the chart in the recently viral post that the former World No. 1 is among the favorites to win the 2025 clay slam despite his retirement is misleading.
Rafael Nadal won a record 14 Roland Garros titles during his career
During his 23-year career, Rafael Nadal established the French Open as his stronghold. Of his 22 Major titles, 14 came on the Parisian clay. His dominance at Stade Roland Garros began in 2005 when he won the title on his debut at the tournament. The Spaniard went on to defend his title three consecutive times, emerging victorious at the event in 2006, 2007, and 2008.
After a shock fourth-round loss in 2009, Nadal returned to winning ways in Paris in 2010 and stitched another title streak at the venue, emerging victorious from 2010 to 2014. After a two-year lull, the man from Manacor lifted the Roland Garros four more times between 2017 and 2020, taking his French Open tally to 13.
The Spaniard's final title at Stade Roland Garros came in 2022 when he bettered Casper Ruud in the final. In the Open Era, the man closest to this tally of 14 French Opens is Bjorn Borg at six (1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981).