French Open: Why farewell ceremony for Rafael Nadal was cancelled? And why is he unseeded?
Nadal, who turns 38 on June 3 and has said previously he expects this to be his last season, will face No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev in the first round on Monday.
Rafael Nadal will not be getting a farewell ceremony at Roland Garros this year. The tournament organisers had planned a farewell ceremony for the record 14-time winner but they have now shunned the idea because he has said this might not necessarily be his final appearance at the tournament.
Tournament director Amélie Mauresmo said Sunday, Day 1 of the clay-court Grand Slam event, that Nadal let officials know he didn’t want to close the door on a return before he told the world that at a pre-tournament news conference.
 "French Open: Why farewell ceremony for Rafael Nadal was cancelled? And why is he unseeded?")
“As you can imagine, we had something planned for him. But … because he doesn’t know if it’s going to be his last Roland Garros or not, he wants to leave the door open maybe to come back next year as a player. So we are not going to push him, obviously, to do anything,” Mauresmo said.
“It’s his decision when he wants to have a proper ceremony, a proper goodbye, a proper farewell. So we’re not going to do it this year. That’s his wish,” she continued. “And even though we were ready to push the button if something happens, we obviously are going to respect what he wants and make sure we are ready whenever he feels he wants to do it. Later this year; next year; anytime he wants.”
