Rafa Nadal continues to break records even after he has stopped playing as the racket he used in the 2017 French Open has sold for a huge fee.
The Babolat racket went under the hammer at a Prestige Memorabilia auction on Sunday, fetching a price of $157,333.20 and making it the most expensive racket ever sold.
Photo-matching by the auctioneers identified the racket in 24 different matches including the Miami Open and Madrid Open finals. Nadal also used it in the 2017 Australian Open final against Roger Federer.
But it was the use in Paris that made it a lucrative object as Nadal’s defeat of Stan Warwinka saw him win his 10th French Open title and the 15th of his career overall.
Prestige Memeobiall described it as the “most extensively photo-matched Rafael Nadal racket to come to auction and one of the most significant pieces of tennis memorabilia to ever surface” as it came during Nadal’s return to Grand Slam glory having missed out in the previous three years.
Completing the “Decima” was one of Nadal’s most dominant performances as the Spaniard did not lose a single set and cemented his place as the King of Clay.
The Babolat racket, custom-made for Nadal, features his “Rafa” emblem on the throat, not found on retail versions of the racket. It also has his Babolat customization sticker reading “R. Nadal 12-2016 3”, and a stringing sticker from the 2017 French Open; the sticker reads “RG 2017 Nadal.” The racket still has clay stains on the overgrip.
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The figure beats the previous record again held by a Nadal racket which was the one he used in the 2022 Australian Open final. The Spaniard defeated Daniil Medvedev to claim his 21st Slam, a then-record.
Nadal would win 14 French Opens in his career, the most by any player in Slam history as well as two Australian Opens, two Wimbledon titles and four US Opens.
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