Bidding and Full Auction Catalog Opens at 4pm EDT July 17th, 2024. There is no athlete in any sport who has achieved dominance at a major event like Rafael Nadal has at the French Open. With 14 major titles at one major, Nadal equaled what was not long ago the overall record for most majors. Nadal has been so heroic at the tournament that in 2021 a massive statue of him was built on the grounds, while he was still playing. Now, with 22 Grand Slams to his name, Rafael Nadal approaches the end of his career. It was at the 2005 French Open where Rafael Nadal won his first of these championships, days after his 19th birthday. Shockingly, it was his first time ever even competing at the French Open; it would change tennis forever. This tournament was beyond monumental for so many reasons, and another was because it was the first major encounter in tennis’ greatest ever rivalry: Federer vs. Nadal. Nadal wore this very shirt during that storied match (in which he defeated world number one Federer in their first of 14 major matches) as well as during the Final and Quarterfinal matches. Besides the historic nature of the shirt, it’s among the most iconic fashions ever seen in tennis. The green sleeveless shirt was an instant sensation and has become synonymous with the image of Nadal. The shirt is widely considered as the most recognizable shirt of Nadal’s entire career, and it marked the beginning of the King of Clay’s reign. Also included in the lot is a “rookie” card featuring Nadal during the tournament, as well as a limited edition throwback shirt released by Nike in 2024 which features this most memorable shirt of Nadal’s.

 Nadal wore this shirt for at least 3 matches during the tournament, including the Quarterfinal, Semifinal against Federer, and Final. Resolution Photomatching determined conclusive matches, ResMatches, to the 6/5/2005 Final vs. Puerta, 6/3/2005 Semifinal vs. Federer, and the 5/31/2005 Quarterfinal vs. Ferrer. Exactly 17 years later, on 6/5/2022, Nadal would win his last of 22 Grand Slams at the French Open.

 This is the only photomatched shirt from a winning tennis Grand Slam that has ever come to light at auction. It’s by far the earliest photomatched Nadal item to come to auction; it’s also the only Nadal shirt with a Resolution Photomatch to ever come to auction, to further emphasize the absurd rarity of this piece. As collectors know, Resolution has been used to authenticate many of the most significant sales in history, including the $9.3 million Diego Maradona jersey sale; the coveted full Resolution Photomatching documentation accompanies this shirt.