Players may need Rafael Nadal to retire if they hope to win Roland Garros

Roland Garros belongs to none other than King of Clay Rafael Nadal for the twelfth time in his historic career. Can anyone stop him there?

Winning a 12th career men’s singles title at Roland Garros, we have to wonder whether or not anyone can beat Rafael Nadal there in the foreseeable future. Hats off to Austrian tennis star Dominic Thiem on yet another impressive run. He falls short though, losing in the finals to Rafa for the second year in a row.

Players such as Thiem may need Rafa to retire if they hope to taste glory at Roland Garros. Only a few players have won while Nadal has been around. Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka, and Roger Federer are among those players.

All three tennis stars have just a sole title at the French Open since Rafa started wining back in 2005. The King of Clay has truly earned the title and continues to defend it to this day. Along with his 12 total men’s singles titles at the clay court major, he has won three in a row.

Recap Rafa’s previous 11 French Open titles here. It almost comes as no surprise when we see him playing so well at Roland Garros. He and the major tournament are synonymous with one another at this point in his career.

We expect to see young stars like Thiem or Alexander Zverev win several French Opens throughout their careers, but they may have to wait a bit to get that going. Thiem, the now back to back runner-up appears designated to take a title at the clay court major. For now though, Rafa remains king and it will continue to be his tournament to lose.

This year featured a new champion on the women’s singles side. While Nadal is dominant in men’s singles at Roland Garros, Ashleigh Barty shocks the field and continues an impressive year of tennis by taking home her first ever women’s singles Grand Slam title. She is doubles winner at the US Open but now she adds singles slam to her stellar resume.