A few days after the Spanish tennis player’s retirement, the French still have a very positive image of him, according to the latest Odoxa survey for Winamax and RTL.
How can we forget him? And how can we not bow to him? Rafael Nadal, 38 years old and 22 Grand Slam tournaments, played the last match of his career on November 19, 2024, against the Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp, in the Davis Cup. The end of a monumental career closely linked to the French public, which saw him win the Roland-Garros tournament fourteen times.
Thus, in the latest Odoxa survey for Winamax and RTL, the French were asked about the image they will keep of the one called “the bull of Manacor”. And the answers are unanimous: 85% of the 1005 people questioned say they have a good opinion of the Spaniard. A score similar to those collected by Antoine Griezmann, Teddy Riner, Tony Parker and Zinédine Zidane.
And the positive adjectives rain down. Rafael Nadal is considered combative (by 89% of respondents), spectacular (82%), elegant (68%) in terms of his game plan. However, he is considered physically fragile by half of tennis fans.
But Nadal’s image does not stop at the tennis courts. On a human level, Nadal also garners praise from the French public, who consider him sympathetic (80%) and close to the public (78%). Another proof of the French love for “Rafa”, the legend is designated as the best player in history by the French.
From the Chatrier court to the Nadal court?
The Spaniard is the most cited player (26%), ahead of the two other giants of the Top 3, Roger Federer (21%) and Novak Djokovic (18%). Among tennis fans, who represent 370 people in the panel, Nadal is also the most cited (28%), ahead of the same duo (25% for Federer and 20% for Djokovic).
Between 2005 and 2022, Rafael Nadal won no less than 14 Roland-Garros tournaments, enough to make him the undisputed legend of the Parisian tournament. On this subject, 65% of tennis fans believe that this record will never be broken while 47% say they are in favor of the center court being renamed in his honor.
Finally, proof of the immense page of the sport that has just turned, 57% of tennis fans already say they are saddened by Nadal’s retirement, while a third of them say that this news will diminish their interest in tennis. Unless a Novak Djokovic, who recently announced that he would now be coached by Andy Murray, comes to revive this interest?
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