It was already an emotional scene at the French Open on Sunday afternoon, when tennis legend Rafael Nadal was honored with a special farewell ceremony inside Roland-Garros, but a surprise appearance from three VIP guests really upped the ante.

If an 18th birthday is supposed to be a momentous, coming-of-age occasion, then Carlos Alcaraz got the memo. In front of a home crowd in Madrid, the then-up-and-coming tennis star braced himself to face one of the game’s great players for the first time.

The second of tennis' Grand Slam events gets underway on May 25 with the start of the French Open. The clay-court tournament is one where a slower surface speed puts an emphasis on the ability to win extended rallies and play off the baseline rather than relying on a dominant serve.

Follow live text and BBC 5 live radio commentary from the French Open at Roland-Garros, the second Grand Slam tournament of the year.

Here are all the storylines you need to know for the 2025 French Open. TNT will broadcast live from Roland-Garros starting at 5 a.m. ET. There will also be whip-around coverage on truTV at the same time, while all courts will stream live on Max.

Between June 2005 and his farewell appearance at the Roland Garros Stadium in May 2024, Rafael Nadal dispatched an array of adversaries to claim 14 French Open singles titles. Diminished by foot and abdominal injuries,