Rafael Nadal’s Roland Garros winning racquet nets $118K at auction
The exact racquet Nadal used to win the 2007 title was previously housed in the Australian Tennis Museum as part of Ken Rosewall’s personal collection.
After 20 days of bidding, Rafael Nadal’s Grand Slam-winning racquet sold for $118,206. It's the exact yellow and black Babolat racquet that the Spaniard used to defeat Roger Federer 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 at the 2007 Roland Garros final—after knocking out Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the same draw—and earn his third Grand Slam title.
“This is the first Nadal French Open photomatched racquet ever to come to auction,” said Prestige Memorabilia. “And the first ever Grand Slam championship-point winning photomatched racquet.”
The racquet was a part of eight-time Grand Slam champion Ken Rosewall’s collection and was housed in the Australian Open Tennis Museum until the online auction closed on Monday. Inevitably, opportunity arose for tennis fans and collectors to bid on the sport’s history, with 25 bids placed in total.
Famous tennis racquets have a history of raking in quite a haul at auction, including $107,482 for Novak Djokovic's 2016 Roland Garros racquet, $125,000 for a racquet used by Billie Jean King’s during the 1973 Battle of the Sexes, and a record $139,700 for Nadal’s racquet from the 2022 Australian Open.
While the Spaniard missed the action-packed Australian Open, he is set to return in Doha shortly. Perhaps his next racquet up for auction will be from a stellar 2024 season?