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The president of the French Tennis Federation, Gilles Moretton, has expressed disappointment over fans reselling commemorative Rafael Nadal T-shirts handed out during a tribute at Roland Garros, calling it “a shame.”
The shirts were distributed to all 15,000 spectators at Court Philippe Chatrier on Sunday, where a ceremony was held to honour Nadal’s legendary career. The shirts bore the words “Merci, Rafa” and were arranged in various colours in the crowd to form the message “14 RG, Rafa” – a nod to the Spaniard’s unprecedented 14 French Open titles. The date “25/05/2025” was also printed on each shirt.
However, soon after the tribute, listings for the shirts appeared online, with some advertised for sale on websites such as Vinted and Leboncoin, ranging from €150 to €500.
“What do you want me to say – that we shouldn’t have made them?” Moretton remarked during a press conference on Monday.
“Some people are just trying to cash in on it, with the ‘Merci Rafa’ message. It’s a bit of a shame. We didn’t consider collecting the T-shirts afterwards – that wouldn’t have been appropriate.”
Moretton added that he was moved by how the vast majority of attendees wore the shirts proudly as a tribute to Nadal. “Around 98 percent of the crowd wore them to honour Rafa. That’s what really matters,” he said.
He believes the shirts have attracted high resale prices because of the moment’s uniqueness. “It’s something that hasn’t happened anywhere else. The magic of Roland Garros and the tribute to Rafa created something special that people now want to own.”
Nadal was visibly emotional during the ceremony and was joined by fellow tennis greats Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray.
