"This is Roland Garros heritage" - Tennis fans react to Rafael Nadal fans Iga Swiatek & Karolina Muchova reaching French Open final

Many are claiming Rafael Nadal will be present in spirit in the 2023 French Open final even though he had to miss the tournament, as both of the women's finalists are his fans.

Iga Swiatek and Karolina Muchova will feature in the women's singles final of the 2023 French Open on Saturday, June 10. Swiatek and Muchova are both self-confessed fans of Rafael Nadal, a 14-time Roland Garros champion. A photo of the two finalists with the Spaniard went viral on social media soon after the final between them was confirmed.

"2023 Roland Garros women's final: Rafan vs Rafan," reads the caption from tennis journalist Bastien Fachan on social media.

Nadal's fans were quick to react to the picture, suggesting that their favorite player was in the final even though he wasn't playing.

"Rafa in the final without even playing the tournament, the RG dominance doesn’t stop," wrote a fan on Twitter.

"See when I say we will always have Paris," added another.

"Rised an entire generation of tennis players, the icon he is," one fan wrote.

Interestingly enough, a fan highlighted that the same thing could be seen on the men's side of the draw too.

"It could also be the same on the Men's side. Alcaraz vs Ruud," they wrote.

Some fans, however, were unhappy about the angle of the original 'Rafan vs Rafan' tweet, saying that the focus should be on the women.

"How about not celebrating women’s success through portraying them as fans of a male figure but rather as exceptional tennis players? We get it, Rafa has fans in other players but enough is enough," a fan expressed.

Others found a way to use the angle as a justification of why it was almost exclusively men who were featured in French Open 2023 night sessions.

"The fact that Iga's idol is an ATP player explains a lot why most of the night sessions at Roland Garros are for the ATP," a fan wrote on Twitter

Here are some more reactions:

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Tomas Etcheverry tries to use Rafael Nadal's picture for luck at French Open 2023

Rafael Nadal after winning his 14th Roland Garros title in 2022

Tomas Etcheverry tried an interesting tactic before his French Open 2023 quarterfinal against Alexander Zverev.

The Argentine was seen warming up for his match on Wednesday when he decided to try to steal a bit of luck from Rafael Nadal. During the preparation, Etcheverry touched Rafa's picture in the Roland Garros players hallway.

The 23-year-old's "trick" worked only for one set, as he lost to Zverev in the quarterfinals 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 4-6.

Nevertheless, because he reached the quarterfinals, Etcheverry has secured a career-high ranking as World No. 32. He is just above Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and trails Sebastian Korda by just 19 points.