WATCH: Roger Federer makes Carlos Alcaraz crack up with cheeky retirement suggestion after Rafael Nadal's French Open tribute

Roger Federer pulls Carlos Alcaraz
Roger Federer pulls Carlos Alcaraz's leg by asking Spaniard to "try to retire" after Rafael Nadal ceremony | Image Source: Getty

Rafael Nadal was honored during the 2025 French Open for his extraordinary accomplishments in the tournament on Sunday, May 25. Following the ceremony, which was also attended by Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray, World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz visited them in the players' area, where they had a rather wholesome interaction.

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Nadal won 14 Major titles in Paris from 2005 to 2022 during his storied career while winning an unassailable 96.5% of his matches on the famed terre battue. The Spaniard's "Big 4" rivals Federer, Djokovic, and Murray attended his honorary ceremony to celebrate his final bow on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Following Rafael Nadal's speech, unpacking his rivals' impact on his career, they went into the players' area for a few photos. Carlos Alcaraz was one of the players present backstage. The 22-year-old proceeded to hug the 38-year-old to show his respect before high-fiving the 38-year-old's two-year-old son.

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Alcaraz huddled up with Djokovic, with whom he has an ongoing rivalry, saying a few choice words to the Serb. The young Spaniard embraced Andy Murray, after which Roger Federer jokingly suggested that he should go through what they had experienced during their respective retirement ceremonies.

"You should try to retire!" Roger Federer said tongue-in-cheek to Carlos Alcaraz eliciting the rest of the Big 4 members to laugh.
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Federer won 20 Major titles in a career that lasted more than three decades. The Swiss maestro retired in the 2022 Laver Cup at the O2 Arena in London. One and a half years later, Murray hung up his racket following his and Dan Evans' exit from the doubles competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Nadal soon followed, playing his last singles match for Spain in their quarterfinal outing against the Netherlands at the Davis Cup Finals last November.

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Rafael Nadal: "Spain should be very happy about having somebody like Carlos Alcaraz"

Carlos Alcaraz, meanwhile, has enjoyed a successful career thus far, winning four Major titles and spending 36 weeks as the World No. 1 at the bare age of 22. In last year's Netflix Slam exhibition in Las Vegas, Rafael Nadal had heaped rich praise on his successor while also joking that he was lucky that their careers didn't overlap.

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Nadal said:

"I think in Spain, we should be very very happy about having somebody like Carlos coming. You know, he's an amazing player at only 20 years old," Rafael Nadal told the media in Las Vegas last March. "So yeah, the good thing is, as a player, I will not face (him) many times, but as a fan, I will keep enjoying him for such a long time hopefully."

The 24-time Major winner shares amazing camaraderie with Alcaraz, who looked up to him growing up. Their relationship was chronicled in Netflix's recent docuseries, "Carlos Alcaraz: My Way". In one of the episodes, the former World No. 1 was seen pulling the then-21-year-old's leg by referencing the latter's propensity for liking girls' photos on Instagram.

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Edited by Hitesh Nigam
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