Iga Swiatek says she absolutely wants to be on Court Philippe-Chatrier for Rafael Nadal's special ceremony but also admits she will likely become emotional and cry.
On the opening day of this year's French Open edition – which is May 25th, Sunday – the tournament plans to honor its greatest champion. After all scheduled day matches for Court Philippe-Chatrier are finished, the all-time French Open winner will receive a special ceremony.
Since coming to the WTA and becoming one of the best in the game, Swiatek has often spoken about how she used to idolize and look up to Nadal. And to no one's surprise, she wants to experience the special ceremony on Sunday. However, she first needs to see when exactly she will play her first-round match against Rebecca Sramkova.
Swiatek: I'd love to be there… Nadal was an inspiration and still is
“I really want to watch it. I’ll see what the schedule looks like for Monday. If I’m gonna play on Monday and everything. I need to be aware 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," Swiatek said.
Iga Swiatek says she knows she’s going to cry watching Rafa Nadal’s ceremony at Roland Garros:
“I really want to watch it. I’ll see what the schedule looks like for Monday. If I’m gonna play on Monday and everything. I need to be aware that for sure I’m gonna cry 😂… so we need… pic.twitter.com/NIoUahN8FW
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) May 23, 2025
A couple of years ago, the cameras caught Swiatek going wild in the stands during Nadal's stunning 2022 Australian Open final comeback win against Daniil Medvedev.
