Organisers gave all 15,000 people at Court Philippe Chatrier for a ceremony celebrating Nadal's career on Sunday free T-shirts printed with the words 'merci, Rafa'.

The 38-year-old Djokovic starts off against 98th-ranked American Mackenzie McDonald, three days after becoming only the third man to win 100 ATP titles with his victory in Geneva.

Reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz kicked off his French Open campaign with a commanding straight-sets victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri on Monday.

Swiatek extended her winning run at Roland Garros to 22 matches but has dropped to fifth in the world after a year-long trophy drought.

Roland Garros held an emotional tribute to the 14-time French Open winner's career on the opening day of the tournament, six months after Nadal played his final match.

The 38-year-old, who retired from tennis last November, was serenaded by the Roland Garros crowd, with spectators wearing different coloured t-shirts to create the message "14 RG, Rafa".

The 27-year-old from Belarus has never reached the final in Paris, but the tournament appears more open than in recent years given the struggles of three-time defending champion Iga Swiatek.

Roland Garros will pay tribute to its greatest champion with a ceremony for the retired Rafael Nadal on Sunday, while Aryna Sabalenka gets her French Open campaign up and running on the opening day of the tournament.

A special ceremony will honor the 14-time champion Nadal on opening day.

Djokovic joins Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer as the only players with a century of tour titles.

BKSP's Monir Khan Tonmoy and Jui Akter emerged as the best swimmers of the 37th National Age-group Swimming and Diving Competition, which concluded at the National Swimming Complex in Mirpur on Saturday.

With the aid of shovels, brooms and wheelbarrows -- and a dose of elbow grease -- the 180 or so specialised staff, most of whom are temporary workers, toil from dawn till dusk to whip the 18 courts into pristine condition for the year's second Grand Slam.

Born without four fingers on his left hand, he competes in events like the breaststroke and butterfly---disciplines that require swimmers to touch the wall with both hands simultaneously. The rules don’t bend, and neither does Nadimul.

Novak Djokovic marked his 38th birthday in style on Thursday, defeating Matteo Arnaldi 6-4 6-4 to reach the Geneva Open semi-finals and continue his pursuit of a 100th career title.

Bangladesh Swimming Federation’s (BSF) expectation to make a long-awaited debut of the electronic timer was shattered at the National Swimming Complex during the 37th National Age-group Swimming Championship yesterday.

Novak Djokovic said he would carry on without a coach for now after parting ways with Andy Murray last week, as the Serbian prepares for his latest bid to win a record-extending 25th Grand Slam title at the French Open.

In a significant development for kabaddi in Bangladesh, 10 players have been selected for the upcoming Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) Season 12 auction, which is scheduled to take place on May 31 and June 1 in India.

The US-made Daktronics electronic timer, installed by the National Sports Council in late 2019 at a cost of Tk 4 crore as part of an Tk 8.5 crore renovation project, has remained unused in national events for five years due to faulty timekeeping.

Organised by the match site chess.com, the duel -- dubbed "Magnus Carlsen vs. The World" -- pitted the 34-year-old Norwegian against amateurs from around the planet who decided their moves by popular vote.

Swimmers Sagor and Himel are set to leave for England in the first week of July and attempt the feat between July 22 and 25, following a week-long adjustment in cold water of the Atlantic.