Aryna Sabalenka Aims to ‘Catch’ Rafael Nadal For French Open Advice After His Tribute Ceremony

The French Open has organized a special ceremony on May 25th to honor Kind of Clay Rafael Nadal.

Aryna Sabalenka Aims to ‘Catch’ Rafael Nadal For French Open Advice After His Tribute Ceremony

Aryna Sabalenka, Rafael Nadal (Image via X/We Are Tennis, Bastien Fachan)

What is the secret behind Rafael Nadal’s 14 French Open titles? Aryna Sabalenka wants to know the answer.

And for the same, she will try to find Rafael Nadal for some valuable advice, for she is bidding to win her first French Open title. On Sunday (May 25th), Sabalenka demolished Kamilla Rakhimova 6-1, 6-0 to book her spot in the second round of the clay-court Major. After the match, Sabalenka was all praise for the King of Clay, who will be honored with a grand tribute ceremony on Philippe-Chatrier later during the day.

Whenever someone asks me about Rafa the first thing which comes to my mind is a really hard worker. Everything he’s achieved is through really hard work and he’s been an inspiration to me, an inspiration to so many players so I’m really grateful for a great example.

Aryna Sabalenka said during her on-court interview

Last year, Nadal did not receive the retirement ceremony in a tournament he ruled for nearly two decades. He had refused the ceremony because of the uncertainty about his retirement. The 22-time Grand Slam champion at that time had not made up his mind about retirement.

Of course, I’ll try to stick around and watch this beautiful ceremony and I’ll try to catch him somewhere there and ask him, ‘How? How can I win this tournament? Please, give me one or two advice. I don’t need more than that!’

Aryna Sabalenka added

In Nadal’s last French Open, he was defeated in straight sets in the first round by Alexander Zverev who went all the way to the final, only to lose a five-set battle to World No.2 Carlos Alcaraz. Then in November, Nadal lost to Botic van de Zandschulp in the Davis Cup and Spain’s 2-1 defeat to the Netherlands in the quarterfinal marked the end of a remarkable career.

Jannik Sinner opens up about the support he has received from Rafael Nadal

The French Open will be Jannik Sinner‘s third tournament of the season as he received a three-month suspension due to his doping scandal. Sinner has faced harsh criticism from fans, tennis pundits, and even from some of his colleagues for failing the drug test twice last year.

Rafael Nadal, Jannik Sinner
Rafael Nadal, Jannik Sinner (Image via X/Tennis Magazine, Giovanni Pelazzo)

Rafael Nadal has time and again voiced a different opinion on Sinner’s doping saga. A few days before the start of the French Open, Nadal reiterated that he doesn’t hold the young Italian responsible for the contamination and that he would “bet his life” on Sinner’s innocence. Now Sinner, in his pre-tournament press conference, was asked about Nadal’s support. He told the Italian journalists:

Nadal knows me how I am as a person. I was very pleased to receive this support from such an important person in our sport and in the world. He helped me a lot morally, I appreciated it very much because he is a very honest person.

Sinner will be kick-starting his campaign against Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech against whom, the World No.1 edges 2-1 in the head-to-head matchups. The three-time Grand Slam champion produced his best performance at the Roland Garros when he reached the semifinals last year but lost a five-set thriller to eventual winner Carlos Alcaraz.

He will once again face Alcaraz if both the young rivals reach the semifinals. For the first time in Grand Slam events, Sinner and Alcaraz are seeded first and second, respectively.

Sinner is 4-7 in the head-to-head encounter with the four-time Grand Slam champion and also lost four consecutive matches against him. Before reaching the final, the 23-year-old could run into three-time French Open champion Novak Djokovic or last year’s runner-up Alexander Zverev in the semifinals.

Also read: Andy Roddick Predicts How Far Iga Swiatek Will Go at the French Open After Being Handed “The Most Brutal Draw”