ATP Tour

Nadal on Alcaraz-Sinner Roland Garros final: 'It was a match for the ages'

As you might expect, Rafael Nadal was one of the millions who watched the historic Roland Garros final between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday. The Spaniard, who won the tournament's Coupe des Mousquetaires 14 times, reflected on the tussle while at the Pula Golf Resort in Son Servera supporting The Battle of Stars, a charity golf tournament in Spain to raise money for the fight against ALS.

“It was a match for the ages,” said Nadal. “I’m very happy for Carlos. It was a spectacular final, very exciting. Ending up with the cup after Sinner was so close to taking it for so long... I’m very happy for him.

“I feel for Jannik,” added the 22-time major champion. “Despite the fact that it was an incredibly difficult match for him, he maintained an impeccable attitude and carried himself well.”

Between them, Sinner and Alcaraz have won the past six Grand Slam titles (all four in 2024, and the first two of 2025) and seven of the past eight. Following the retirement of Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Nadal — and with their exits, the end of the Big 4 (only Novak Djokovic remains active) — the Italian and Spaniard have immediately taken the baton and created their own marquee Lexus ATP Head2Head rivalry.

“Tennis is more important than any player,” opined Nadal. “There will be Grand Slam champions every year, and each of them will tread their own path. New stars will always appear, and here we have two of them,” he said of Sinner and Alcaraz, the top two players in the PIF ATP Rankings. “They are two players who are head and shoulders above the rest at the moment, proving that they are great champions. Tennis is in good hands in that regard.”

Nadal, who was given an emotional tribute on the first Sunday of competition at Roland Garros on Court Philippe-Chatrier, later returned to Spain and watched the tournament from his home. It is something he feels perfectly happy to do.

“I don’t feel like I would have liked to be there,” he admitted. “I watched the tournament like any other fan, excited to see a place that was so important during my career and simply enjoying the tennis. This is my new reality, I don’t look beyond that.”

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Nadal retired from professional tennis last November, after representing Spain in the Davis Cup for the final time.

This story was translated from ATPTour.com/es.