Novak Djokovic's Career Grand Slam-winning racket fetches staggering price at auction
The tennis racket used by Novak Djokovic in the final at Roland Garros in 2016 was recently sold at an auction for $107,482.
The Serb faced longtime rival Andy Murray in the title contest in Paris. They were the top two seeds in the tournament. The Brit took the first set, but Djokovic staged a comeback and beat Murray 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 to lift his maiden Roland Garros title.
With this victory, the World No. 1 achieved several career milestones, including completing the Career Grand Slam, i.e. winning all four Major titles. Moreover, Djokovic also became the first men's player since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four Grand Slam titles at the same time. The Serb won the Wimbledon Championships and US Open in 2015 and the 2016 Australian Open as well.
After beating Murray in Paris, an overjoyed Djokovic drew a big heart on the clay court with the racket and then threw it into the stands. A lucky fan named Abby Doherty caught the racket. Six years later, the fan decided to auction the racket.
The recently concluded auction, organized by California-based SCP Auctions, sold the racket, a 27-inch Head Speed Graphene Touch PT113B, for a whopping $107,482. This is one of the highest-ever amounts paid for a tennis racket at any auction. The item had a minimum bid of $10,000 and received a total of 23 bids.
Who did Novak Djokovic defeat en route his 2016 Roland Garros title win?
Novak Djokovic was seeded No. 1 at the 2016 Roland Garros Championships and came to Paris on the back of winning five titles in seven tournaments that year. He won the Qatar Open, Australian Open, Indian Wells Open, Miami Open and the Madrid Open in 2016 prior to arriving in the French capital.
Djokovic began his campaign in Paris with a straight-set victory over Chinese Taipei’s Yen-Hsun Lu. The 36-year-old also registered straight-set wins in his second-round match against Steve Darcis and the third-round contest against Aljaz Bedene.
In the fourth round, No. 14 Roberto Bautista Agut took the first set off the Serb, who won the following three sets to book his place in the quarter-final.
Djokovic swept aside the 7th seed Tomas Berdych 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 in the quarter-final. His impeccable form continued in the semi-final against the young Austrian and No. 13 seed Dominic Thiem, who was downed 6-2, 6-1, 6-4.
Djokovic faced off against Andy Murray in the final and defeated the Brit 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4.
Since then, Novak Djokovic has gone on to lift two more Roland Garros titles. He prevailed over Stefanos Tsitsipas in the 2021 final, 6-7(6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4, and Casper Ruud in the 2023 final, 7-6 (1), 6-3, 7-5.