Rafael Nadal

Singles Ranking
#5
Spain
37 Years (03 Jun, 1986)
6'1" (185cm)
187lbs (85kg)
Manacor, Mallorca, Spain
Left-Handed, Two-Handed Backhand
Carlos Moya, Francisco Roig, Marc Lopez
2001
1
90
1038-209
$127,121,385
-

Rafael Nadal Bio

Rafael Nadal, referred to by fans and experts alike as ‘Rafa’, will go down in history as the most dominant clay court player the game has ever seen. In the modern era of tennis, the French Open Grand Slam is very closely associated with the Spaniard, who’s won the Slam a whopping 13 times. That is a record for most wins on a single surface across Grand Slams. Indeed, it’s worth noting that Pete Sampras’ all-time Slams record – which was the benchmark before ...Read More

Rafael Nadal, referred to by fans and experts alike as ‘Rafa’, will go down in history as the most dominant clay court player the game has ever seen. In the modern era of tennis, the French Open Grand Slam is very closely associated with the Spaniard, who’s won the Slam a whopping 13 times. That is a record for most wins on a single surface across Grand Slams. Indeed, it’s worth noting that Pete Sampras’ all-time Slams record – which was the benchmark before the 2000s – was 14.

The Mallorca native is also one of three players in the modern era – the other two being rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic – to have completed the career Grand Slam. His unique gameplay and relentless nature make him a force to reckon with even now, when injuries and age have caught up with him to some extent.

Besides his exploits in the French Open, it’s worth noting that Nadal’s dominance of clay stretches beyond just Roland Garros. Of his 88 ATP singles titles, 62 have been on clay. Of his 36 ATP Masters titles, 26 of those have come on clay. He also boasted an 81-game winning streak on the surface, the longest by some margin in the Open era. Besides that, he’s also spent a good bit of time as the world’s highest ranked men’s singles player. He’s been atop the rankings for a combined 209 weeks and has ended the year on top of the rankings on five separate occasions.

Nadal has also accomplished a feat neither Djokovic nor Federer has done – do the Career Golden Slam i.e. win all Grand Slam titles as well as an Olympic gold medal in singles competition. Djokovic has won a bronze Olympic medal in singles, whereas Federer’s sole Olympics medal is a gold – but in men’s doubles. Nadal has also won 11 doubles titles, although none of those have been in Grand Slams.

Nadal is a southpaw, and one of the most successful left-handers of all time in the sport. Of the Big Three, he is the only one who favours his left hand. This was because his uncle Toni, who was his first coach, saw Nadal play a two-armed forehand once and encouraged him to play tennis with his left hand, due to the lack of southpaws in the sport.

His game relies heavily on a powerful forehand that features more topspin than normal. The fact that he plays with his left hand also means that the angles at which he returns to his predominantly right-handed players are unique, and thus harder to return back. This was especially true with Federer, whose backhand was constantly tested by Nadal’s searing forehand returns.

But arguably Nadal’s biggest strength is his ability to break serves. He is regularly up there in terms of most break points won and is a powerful server in his own right. Initially in his career, his service game was considered something of a weakness but he worked hard on it over time. His game sees him mostly stick to the baseline, although over time he’s adopted a serve-and-volley approach on occasion to shock opponents.

Australian Open – won in 2009, 2022
French Open – won in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
Wimbledon – won in 2008 and 2010
US Open – won in 2010, 2013, 2017, 2019

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Rafael Nadal RECORDS

Rafael Nadal Titles & Finals

Singles & Doubles

Year
Tournament
Opponent
Score

Rafael Nadal Ranking History

Rafael Nadal Stats

Singles Service Record
Aces 3,722
Double Faults 1,958
1st Serve 68%
1st Serve Points Won 72%
2nd Serve Points Won 57%
Break Points Faced 6,116
Break Points Saved 67%
Service Games Played 14,333
Service Games Won 86%
Total Service Points Won 67%
Singles Return Record
1st Serve Return Points Won 34%
2nd Serve Return Points Won 55%
Break Points Opportunities 10,599
Break Points Converted 45%
Return Games Played 14,200
Return Games Won 34%
Return Points Won 42%
Total Points Won 55%

Rafael Nadal Recognition

Awards

Player of the Year
2008, 2010, 2013, 2017, 2019
Most Improved Player
2005
Newcomer of the Year
2003
Comeback Player of the Year
2013
Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award
2018, 2010, 2019, 2020
Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year
2011

Rafael Nadal Activity

Rafael Nadal POINTS Breakdown

Ranking Points YTD W/L YTD Titles YTD Prize Money
6 5,815 24 - 5 2 $1,478,830

ATP FInals / ATP Cup

Date Tournament Round Points Drop Date
2019.11.11 Nitto ATP Finals RR 400 2021.11.08

Grand Slams

Date Tournament Round Points Drop Date
2020.09.28 Roland Garros W 1,000 2022.06.13
2019.07.01 Wimbledon SF 360 2022.07.11
2020.01.20 Australian Open QF 360 2022.01.31

ATP Masters 1000

Date Tournament Round Points Drop Date
2021.05.10 ATP Masters 1000 Rome W 1,000 2022.05.16
2019.08.05 ATP Masters 1000 Canada W 500 2022.08.08
2019.10.28 ATP Masters 1000 Paris SF 360 2021.11.01
2019.05.06 ATP Masters 1000 Madrid SF 180 2022.05.09
2019.04.15 ATP Masters 1000 Monte Carlo SF 180 2022.04.18
2019.03.04 ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells SF 180 2021.10.18
2019.10.07 ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai - 0 2021.10.18

ATP Tour 500

Date Tournament Round Points Drop Date
2021.04.19 Barcelona W 500 2022.04.25
2020.02.24 Acapulco W 500 2022.02.28
2021.08.02 Washington R16 45 2022.08.08
2019.10.21 Vienna - 0 2021.10.25

Best Of Other Countable Tournaments

Date Tournament Round Points Drop Date
2019.12.30 ATP Cup F 250 2022.01.10

Non-Countable Tournaments

Date Tournament Round Points Drop Date
2019.09.16 Laver Cup RR 0 2021.09.20

Rafael Nadal News

Jan 1, 2024
As the Brisbane International 2024 gathers momentum, the spotlight turns to Austrian tennis maestro Dominic Thiem, poised for his Round of 32 encounter, signaling a triumphant return to competitive action. Thiem’s resurgence on the court after a hiatus has captivated fans, marking his comeback with anticipation and fervor. Dominic’s earlier matches displayed flashes of his […]
Sep 7, 2023
Daniil Medvedev has continually ranked as one of the world’s leading tennis players for many years now. He is currently the world’s number three-ranked player, and he will surely win many major titles in the future, especially with current greats Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, surely not being too far from retirement.  The US Open […]
Apr 19, 2023
By the end of the previous year, Nadal had only participated in nine matches, and he was unable to start over in 2023.
Apr 19, 2023
At the clay-court major, where the Spaniard has compiled a record of 112-3, Nadal will attempt to add to his long list of victories.
Apr 4, 2023
The Spanish teenager made his decision public via social media, where he said that he was suffering from post-traumatic arthritis and has muscular discomfort in the spine.