The racquet that tennis great Rafael Nadal used during his 2017 French Open final has been auctioned for a record price of $157,333.20. The auction was conducted by Prestige Memorabilia auction and the opening bid for the racquet was kept at $10,000.00. The racquet is of Babolat brand.
Nadal beat Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka 6–2, 6–3, 6–1 to win that year’s French Open final. It was Spaniard’s tenth title at the Roland Garros and his fifteenth Grand Slam title win at the time. Nadal has won fourteen French Open titles and 22 men’s singles Grand Slams in total. He retired from professional tennis last year.
Nadal’s display at the 2017 French Open is considered one of his most dominant performances at Roland Garros. He won the French Open title that year without dropping a single set and did not lose more than four games in any set of each of the seven matches that he played.
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The sports equipment is now the most expensive tennis racquet sold at an auction.
The previous most expensive tennis racquet sold at an auction also belonged to Nadal. It was the racquet which he used during the 2022 Australian Open. In the final of that tournament Nadal beat Russia’s Daniil Medvedev to win his second Australian Open title. It was his final Grand Slam victory. That racquet was auctioned off for $139,700 at Sotheby’s in 2023.
According to thetennisauction.com Nadal’s 2017 French Open-winning racquet was photomatched to 27 dates including 24 different matches highlighting his dominant 2017 season. The photomatched dates include his Miami Open final victory over arch rival Roger Federer, his Madrid Open final win, and every one of his seven rounds of the historic 2017 French Open. Further the features Nadal’s “Rafa” emblem on the throat. The “Rafa” logo is not found on the retail version of the racquet. However, what truly makes the racquet a collector’s pride is that it still has clay stains on its overgrip. thetennisauction.com has labeled it as the “most significant pieces of tennis memorabilia to ever surface.”
Prakhar Sachdeo
The Sportz Planet Desk
