Rafael Nadal recently cast his mind back to Rory Mcllroy completing the career grand slam in golf at the 2025 Masters Tournament. The now-retired Spanish tennis legend, an avid golf fan, revisited how emotional Mcllroy’s triumph made him and also laid bare his fondness for the Northern Irishman.

Mcllroy held his nerve to pip Justin Rose to the title at the 2025 Masters Tournament. It was the Northern Irishman’s first golf Major triumph in more than 11 years, and one that helped him to achieve the career Grand Slam in the sport and join an illustrious list of players that includes Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.

Remembering the tears of joy he shed for Rory Mcllroy after his victory, former World No. 1 in men’s singles tennis and 22-time tennis Major champion Rafael Nadal told Laureus:

“Very, very emotional. I had tears in my eyes for a lot of minutes after his victory. Very, very special. Coming from the sports world, I understand 100 percent how much he suffered, especially his last round.”

Going on to acknowledge the effort Justin Rose also put in, the Spaniard added:

“And, yeah, 11 years without winning a Major for a player like Rory, the amount of pressure that he had to hold, to survive through his last round and the attack of Justin Rose, who had been amazing, and he’s a gentleman too, it was so special, no?”

Nadal’s emotional take on Mcllroy comes in the wake of the golfing icon being nominated for the World Comeback of the Year award at this year’s Laureus World Sports Awards, which is slated to take place in Madrid on Monday, April 20.

“You have been a hero of mine” – Rory Mcllroy’s moving message to Rafael Nadal after Spaniard’s retirement from tennis in 2024

Nadal bid an emotional farewell to tennis after Spain was knocked out from the 2024 Davis Cup Finals. In the aftermath of the development, Nike shared a video on its social media handles to acknowledge the Spaniard’s greatness. Mcllroy subsequently reacted to the video by sending a moving message to the former World No. 1, writing:

“From watching you win your first grand slam in 2005 to watching you win your last in 2022, you have been a hero of mine and an inspiration to how I approach my own career. You will be so missed and tennis won’t be the same without you. Congratulations on one of the finest sporting careers of all time. See you on the course soon! Your friend, Rory.”

The Spaniard was later given a special tribute at last year’s French Open, where his former great rivals Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray were in attendance as well.