French Open 2024: Nike’s ‘Poor’ Rafael Nadal Tribute Irks Tennis Fans as Controversy Erupts in Paris

Everyone in Paris is currently busy setting the stage for the ‘King of Clay’ for what’s probably going to be his one last dance at the Roland Garros. They want to ensure he remembers this ride forever in his life. And why not? Coming from the small town of Manacor in Mallorca, Spain to becoming the ‘King of Clay’! What a journey this has been for the 14-time French Open champion. The tournament organizers may well have arranged for a mega farewell event for Rafael Nadal and so have his long-time kit sponsor, Nike.

Nike has released an exclusive set of T-shirts celebrating Rafael Nadal’s first Roland Garros triumph in 2005. The T-shirt features a photo of 19-year-old Rafa with a white hairband on his head. He is spotted in front of a simple white T-shirt in his signature celebratory pose, pumping his left fist and flexing his biceps. This moment is quite historic in Rafael Nadal’s career. In his first appearance at the French Open, he defeated Argentina’s Mariano Puerta by 6(6)-7,6-3,6-1,7-5 in the finals that year.

Nadal became the second man after Mats Wilander in 1982 to win the Roland Garros title on his first attempt. Despite all these memorable moments engraved in a single picture, fans have recently started to showcase their disappointment about the look of the T-shirt. Recently a Twitter user put up a post stating, “Nike is bringing a limited edition Rafael Nadal tee for Roland Garros ft himself, back when he won the tournament in 2005. Currently, it’s up for sale in EU and coming on 05/27 for the US.”

After seeing this post, fans have come out in numbers to send a message to the renowned sports apparel brand. They’ve started to call out Nike for their ‘lack of effort‘ while making this iconic T-shirt. Here’s what they said in the comment box of that post.

Fans showcase their disappointment surrounding Rafael Nadal’s limited edition Roland Garros T-shirt

This will most likely be Nadal’s last appearance at this iconic clay court tournament. French Open gave him an identity in the sports world. So, everyone is trying their best to gift him, his fans, and his family something that they are going to remember forever. And what’s more memorable than his first win at this iconic venue? But could this have been presented a little better?

Well, fans are absolutely surprised to see this simple-looking T-shirt surrounding the most extraordinary player on the clay courts. They expected something better to celebrate the farewell of the ‘King of Clay’. Few of them stated it as, “0% effort.”

This is surely something that the iconic sports brand wouldn’t love to hear from their customers. As things look like, fans have completely turned their heads away from this T-shirt. Especially because of its poor design. “This took no thought or design. Poor effort by Nike.”

At that time the 19-year-old, Rafael Nadal became the first male teenager to win a major singles title since American tennis legend Pete Sampras in 1990. So, fans believe they have picked the right memory to portray in front of the T-shirt. But in terms of creativity, they strongly believe a lot could’ve been done to make it better. “I’m sorry but that we call it no creativity no effort to make gor him a special thing for his (probably) last participation in RG do better @Nike,” said the other fan.

The Spaniard has won 22 Grand Slam titles so far in his career and among those 14 have come from this tournament. So, this shows the magnitude of Rafael Nadal in the French Open. He’s an absolute legend in the tennis world. So some of the fans looked quite disappointed with Nike’s effortless approach towards this T-shirt. “Looks so effortless. Rafa deserves something better. He’s a legend.”

Some of the fans asked a straightforward question to the iconic sports brand stating, “Why is it so bad?” Share what are your thoughts on this. And tell us what could’ve been done better to make this T-shirt look more eye-catching.

Rafael Nadal has been handed a tough challenge in the first round of the 2024 French Open. He will face the German tennis star, Alexander Zverev in the first round. Do you think the ‘King of Clay’ can overcome this German hurdle and make a deep run into the tournament this year?