Rafa Nadal is cheered by the crowd during a farewell ceremony at center court Philippe-Chatrier, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Sunday May 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
How a free Nadal tribute T-shirt turned into a $500 resale frenzy
PARIS (AP) 鈥 A day after the French Open honored Rafael Nadal on court, dozens of spectators began selling the clay-colored 鈥淢erci Rafa鈥 T-shirts handed out at Sunday鈥檚 tribute 鈥 with some listings reaching up to 鈧500 ($540).
Rafa Nadal is cheered by the crowd during a farewell ceremony at center court Philippe-Chatrier, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Sunday May 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
PARIS (AP) 鈥 A day after the French Open honored Rafael Nadal on court, dozens of spectators began selling the clay-colored 鈥淢erci Rafa鈥 T-shirts handed out at Sunday鈥檚 tribute 鈥 with some listings reaching up to 鈧500 ($540).
The shirts, marked with the French phrase for 鈥淭hank You Rafa鈥 and the date 鈥25.05.2025,鈥 were given to fans attending the ceremony on Court Philippe-Chatrier to celebrate the 14-time French Open champion. Distributed in varying shades of clay, the T-shirts were part of a . Fans were asked to wear them, creating a giant mosaic in the stands that spelled out 鈥淩G14鈥 鈥 a nod to Nadal’s 14 titles in Paris.
Within minutes of the event, listings began appearing on resale platforms, including the clothing marketplace Vinted, which had 30 shirts listed as of Monday.
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One seller, Maxime Berthuis, listed his shirt for 鈧500, shipping fees excluded.
鈥淚鈥檓 not going to wear the T-shirt anyway,鈥 Berthuis told The Associated Press, adding he bought a ticket to the ceremony for less than 鈧40 ($43). 鈥淗onestly, I don鈥檛 know how I鈥檒l spend the money yet.鈥
He said he had received several offers since posting the listing yesterday 鈥 along with a slew of angry messages from devotees.
Another user who listed a 2XL size T-shirt for 鈧150 (170$) said it was simply much too big for her.
The president of the French Tennis Federation, Gilles Moretton, said he was stunned by how much the T-shirts were being sold for.
鈥淪ome of the prices I saw scared me,鈥 he said on Monday. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a bit sad to see people profit off the 鈥楳erci Rafa鈥 shirts. We weren鈥檛 going to collect them after the ceremony. We created something unique 鈥 and maybe that uniqueness explains why this is happening.鈥
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Moretton said he had not received a shirt himself, despite standing just a few feet from Nadal during the tribute.
鈥淚鈥檓 also looking for a T-shirt, but I鈥檓 not about to go on Vinted,鈥 he said.
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