Serena Williams' one-word tweet after historic Rafa Nadal triumph

Serena Williams has joined the tennis world in celebrating Rafa Nadal's historic French Open triumph with a simple one-word tweet.

Nadal extended his lead in the men's all-time grand slam race on Sunday, claiming his 14th French Open title and 22nd major overall.

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The 36-year-old is now two major titles ahead of great rivals Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, who are tied for second with 20.

And Nadal is now just one grand slam title behind Williams, who is second on the women's list with 23.

On Monday, Williams fired off a one-word tweet to express her awe at Nadal's achievements.

"Rafa!!!" the 40-year-old commented on a post from Roland Garros.

Williams hasn't played since Wimbledon last year and seems to be enjoying her life away from the WTA tour.

The American champ is unlikely to return at Wimbledon later this month after she was left off the official entry lists last week.

Speculation has been rife in recent months that the 23-time grand slam champion is weighing up retirement, with the popular theory that she'll play one farewell tournament at the US Open.

Her tweet about Nadal was somewhat of a shock, with Williams remaining largely silent on the happenings in the tennis world over the last 12 months.

Meanwhile, Nadal has revealed the message he received from Federer in the wake of his triumph.

Federer has been silent on social media but privately sent his congratulations to his great friend and rival.

“With Roger we have a good relationship and a special feeling,” Nadal told Sky Sports in Italy.

“After the victory he wrote me a message to congratulate me."

Federer's coach Ivan Ljubicic has also called on French Open officials to rename Court Philippe-Chatrier (centre court at Roland Garros) in Nadal's honour.

"Not many PLAYED 14 Roland Garros tournaments. He won it 14 times," Ljubicic tweeted.

"There is no word to describe this feat. Don't think good old Philippe would mind if his court changes the name to Rafael Nadal - statue is not enough."

Alexander Zverev out of Wimbledon after ankle surgery

Elsewhere on Tuesday, Alexander Zverev has confirmed he will miss Wimbledon after undergoing ankle surgery.

The World No.3 was forced to retire hurt in his French Open semi-final against Nadal after twisting his ankle in horrible scenes.

Zverev was trailing 7-6 (10-8) 6-6 against Nadal when he rolled his ankle and he screamed out in agony.

The 25-year-old was fighting for his first grand slam title and would have taken over as World No.1 had he succeeded.

"Next week I'll reach a career-high ranking of No. 2 in the world, but this morning I had to undergo surgery," Zverev said in a post on Instagram along with a photo of him in a hospital bed.

"After further examination in Germany, we received confirmation that all three of the lateral ligaments in my right ankle were torn.

"To return to competition as quickly as possible, to ensure all the ligaments heal properly, and to reclaim full stability in my ankle, surgery was the best choice.

"My rehab starts now and I'll do everything to come back stronger than ever!"

Zverev's brother Mischa told German newspaper Bild that Wimbledon is "out of the question" for the 25-year-old. The grass-court major will be held from June 27 to July 10.

It comes as a cruel twist of fate for Zverev, who would have been the top seed at Wimbledon.

With Novak Djokovic set to lose his No.1 ranking and drop down to No.3, Daniil Medvedev will take over the top spot.

However Medvedev is among the Russian and Belarusian players banned from Wimbledon due to Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

With Medvedev out of action, Zverev would have been handed the top seeding for the first time at a grand slam in his career.

Djokovic will instead be handed the honour in a massive reprieve for the Serbian star.

with AAP

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