Rafael Nadal will be hailed for his not insignificant achievements on the courts at the Roland Garros stadium at the start of this year's championships on 25 May, French Open bosses revealed on Thursday.
"Rafa made history at Roland Garros," said tournament director Amélie Mauresmo. "And his 14 titles will perhaps remain unequalled at any Grand Slam tournament."
Gilles Moretton, president of the French Tennis Federation, which organises the only Grand Slam tournament on clay courts, added: "Rafael Nadal and Roland Garros is a love story.
"I think its important to put it in terms like that because he has a profound respect for the surface of clay and we have the same resepct for the player and the ambassador that he could become for our tournament and the federation."
Nadal won the men's singles title in 2005 a few days after turning 19 at the end of his first visit to the Roland Garros stadium.
The Spaniard retained the title the following year and added two more before a surprise loss in the last-16 of the 2009 tournament to Robin Soderling.
In the 2010 final, he avenged the defeat and notched up a run of five consecutive titles to eclipse Bjorn Bjorg's feats of four successive trophies between 1978 and 1981.
Another run of four between 2017 and 2020 took him to 13 and he eviscerated Casper Ruud to hoist a 14th in 2022.
"We want to have a vision for the future," Mauresmo added. "But we want to celebrate those who have thrilled us in the past. For Rafa, we want the celebration to be exceptional and special."
The former world number one said the homage to the 38-year-old would take place on centre court at the end of the day session matches on the first.
Remuneration
There will also be ceremonies to celebrate French players Mary Pierce, who won the women's singles title in 2000, and Richard Gasquet who will retire from the international circuit after competing at the 2025 championships.
Organisers announced a hike in prize money for the 2025 event. This year's champions will receive 2.550,000 euros – up from last year's purse of 2.4 million euros.
A loser in the first round will get 78,000 euros – 5,000 more than at the 2024 tournament. Players in the qualifying rounds will also benefit. A first round loser in 2025 will be paid 21,000 euros, 1,000 more than in 2024.
In a change to tradition, Mauresmo announced that there would be a break between the men's semi-finals. The first will start at 14h30 and the second will not start before 7pm, she said.
"The idea is to make sure people have time to get into the seats," added Mauresmo."Last year it didn't happen and this year we want to see if we can get it right."
One tradition that will stay for at least another year concerns line judges. Moretton said the French Open would keep the teams who call the shots "in" or "out" even though the ATP and WTA – which organise the international circuits – and the three other Grand Slam tournaments in Melbourne, London and New York have decided to replace them with electronic line calling systems.
"We're happy to support our linespeople in France," added Moretton. "The FFT needs lines men and women every weekend in club competitions and in matches between teams.
"I think we're right to keep them as long as we can," he said. "I know the ATP and WTA have taken the decision to get rid of them in their events but as long as the players are still OK to play without machines, we'll keep the line judges at Roland Garros."
