Rafael Nadal announced his retirement from professional tennis in the early hours of October 10th. The Spanish superstar will play the Davis Cup finals in front of his home crowd in Malaga before hanging up his boots.
Over the course of his career which lasted over 20 years, the Spaniard has created and broken numerous records. Nadal, widely known as the ‘King of Clay’, has cemented his place in tennis folklore due to his incredible success and numerous accolades.
Since winning his first Grand Slam title in 2005 at the French Open, the Spanish star added 21 more Majors to his name and is set to finish his career with 22 Grand Slams under his best, only behind Novak Djokovic with 24. Despite his retirement from tennis, some of Nadal’s records might remain unbroken for a long time.
Here is a list of five Rafael Nadal records that are set to prevail even after the Spaniard’s retirement.
#1. 10 consecutive years winning a Grand Slam
Rafael Nadal burst onto the scene by winning the Roland Garros in 2005. Since then, the Spanish star went on a run of winning at least one Grand Slam title per year for the next 10 years.
Nadal won the French Open title 9 times in 10 years since 2005, only missing out on the title in 2009. However, he made up for it by winning his maiden Australian Open title in 2009 to keep his run going. Nadal’s run of 10 consecutive years winning a Major came to an end in an injury-laden season in 2015.
During his run from 2005 -2014, Rafael Nadal won 14 Grand Slam titles in all, completing a Career Grand Slam in the process.
#2. A record fourteen Roland Garros titles
Rafael Nadal is the undisputed King of Clay. The Spaniard has won the French Open a record 14 times while completely dominating the tournament.
Nadal has an incredible record at Roland Garros, winning 112 matches while losing just four times. The Spanish star has a win percentage of 97% in Paris, a record that is set to stand the test of time.
Nadal won his maiden French Open title in 2005 and went on to defend his title till 2008. After losing in the fourth round in Paris in 2009, Nadal came back to win the French Open again from 2010 to 2014.
Nadal went two years without winning in Paris in 2015 and 2016 but got back his crown as the King of Clay by winning the Roland Garros for four consecutive years from 2017 to 2020. Nadal’s last French Open win came in 2022, which was also the last Grand Slam title of his career.
#3. Youngest ever player to achieve a Career Golden Slam
Rafael Nadal became the youngest player to complete a Career Golden Slam after winning the US Open in 2010 at 24. A Career Golden Slam includes all Grand Slam titles along with an Olympic gold medal.
Nadal had already won an Olympic gold medal at the Beijing Games in 2008 along with the Australian Open, the French Open and Wimbledon titles. However, Nadal won the US Open, the only Major that eluded him, in 2010 to create history.
Nadal’s record as the youngest-ever player to complete a Career Golden Slam is set to remain for at least another generation as neither Carlos Alcaraz nor Jannik Sinner can match it.
#4. 81 consecutive wins on clay courts
Rafael Nadal won 81 matches in a row on clay courts between April 2005 and May 2007. This is the longest winning streak by a player on a single surface in the Open Era. The Spaniard was unbeatable on the clay which later became the highlight of his career.
Some of Nadal’s records on the clay courts include a record 11 Monte-Carlo Masters titles, 10 Italian Open titles, and 5 Madrid Open titles. Nadal will end his career with an 89.43% win percentage on clay courts, better than any other player in the Open Era.
#5. 912 consecutive weeks in the Top 10 of the ATP rankings
Rafael Nadal made his way into the top 10 rankings of the ATP Tour in 2005. The Spaniard would stay in the Top 10 for 912 consecutive weeks before he was displaced last year. Nadal spent 912 consecutive weeks in the top 10 of the ATP rankings from April 2005 to March 2023.
During his presence in the top-10 rankings, Nadal held the position of the World No. 1 for 209 weeks, finishing as the year-end World No. 1 on five occasions in 2008, 2010, 2013, 2017 and 2019.
