Barring Roger Federer, it is hard to remember another tennis player being so beloved like Rafael Nadal. Therefore, it is to coincidence that one of his tennis rackets, a relic for tennis and Nadal fans, has been sold for a whopping amount. Nadal’s championship point-winning racket from the 2007 French Open was sold for more than $118,000 at an auction on January 29, 2024. It is the second highest-prized memorabilia of its kind of all-time.
#RafaelNadal‘s 2007 French Open winning #racquet sets auction record at over $118,000https://t.co/Wf5vnInewe
— Economic Times (@EconomicTimes) January 29, 2024
This news comes just weeks after Novak Djokovic hit the news for similar reasons. His 2016 French Open-winning racket was sold for $107,482 at another auction. Given the huge amount, the tennis world immediately believed that it was the most expensive racket ever sold at an auction. However, tennis analyst Matthew Willis debunked that notion by citing Billie Jean King’s famous racket from the Battle of the Sexes. The racket with which BJK beat Bobby Riggs was sold for $125,000 in 2017, making it the most expensive ever.
The only remaining player from the Big Three, Roger Federer also had his tennis equipment raised for auction back in 2019. Not only rackets but T-shirts, shoes, and other belongings of Federer together raised 3.4 million euros ($3.95 million USD approximately). The money generated from the Christie’s auction went towards the Roger Federer Foundation. The multiple items sold online found buyers from 44 different countries.
In any of these cases, it must not have been easy for the players to give away their valuable possessions. Not only for its price but for the sentimental value it holds for them. More than anything, Rafael Nadal and the Roland Garros are like a match made in heaven. Therefore, his tennis racket from only his 3rd French Open title, could not have been more special and the winner of the auction is extremely fortunate to bag this piece of memorabilia for a lifetime.
Rafael Nadal and the value of his possessions
The 2007 French Open final racket isn’t the first item the 22-time Grand Slam winner ever auctioned. Nadal beat Federer at the Wimbledon final of 2008, the first of his 2 Wimbledon wins. The racket with which he beat the Swiss legend 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-7 (8-10), 9-7 was sold at an auction for $5,185 (including buyer’s premium). The money was donated to the Cure Our Kids Foundation. The auction was raised by Australian tennis star Lleyton Hewitt and his wife.
Item 26: @mia_palmer you picked out a racket signed and used by Rafael Nadal at #Wimbledon 2008 #AskACurator pic.twitter.com/6edEa2ZjoI
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) September 14, 2016
Rafael Nadal has also been involved with other businesses. That includes luxury watchmaker Richard Millie since 2010. They developed an ultra-light wristwatch, the RM027 Tourbillon for Nadal to wear at the 2010 French Open. Priced at $525,000, the watch was made of lithium and titanium. In 2022, he wore another Richard Millie watch, the RM 27-04. This one was five times the price of the last one, costing $2.5 million. Made of Titanium and Carbon hybrid, the watch was the most expensive one ever worn at a Grand Slam. Rafael Nadal won his 14th French Open title wearing that watch.
