Nadal's 2007 French Open racket sells for $158k at auction
Rafael Nadal’s championship point winning racket from his 2007 French Open final victory over Roger Federer was sold for more than US$118,000 (S$158,270) at an auction on Jan 29, ranking among the highest-priced such memorabilia.
Nadal beat Federer 6-3 4-6 6-3 6-4 in the 2007 final in Paris to win his third Grand Slam title before the Spaniard moved on to secure a further 19 - 14 of them at Roland Garros - becoming one of the sport’s greatest players.
The racket, which Nadal also used in previous matches of the tournament, including his semi-final victory against Novak Djokovic, sold for US$118,206 at an online auction, Prestige Memorabilia’s The Tennis Auction, that closed on Monday at 0255 GMT.
It was previously housed in the Australian Tennis Museum prior to its recent closure.
It became the third most valuable tennis racket behind Nadal’s 2022 Australian Open racket auctioned at US$139,700 and Billie Jean King’s ‘Battle of the Sexes’ racket sold for US$125,000.
Nadal missed the recent Australian Open this month after suffering a small muscle tear during his comeback from a long injury layoff at the Brisbane International earlier in January.
The 37-year-old, however, is set to return on the court in February during the ATP 250 tournament in Doha. – REUTERS
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