Almost nine years to the day since he first became No. 1, Spain’s Rafael Nadal today returned to the top of the Emirates ATP Rankings for his fourth stint at the pinnacle of men’s professional tennis. Nadal, who has already spent 141 total weeks at No. 1, replaces Great Britain’s Andy Murray, who had held the top spot for 41 weeks since 7 November 2016.
Nadal, who first ascended to No. 1 on 18 August 2008 at the age of 22, last held top spot three years and 45 days ago on 6 July 2014. The Spaniard will now look to stay ahead of his great Swiss rival Roger Federer and finish atop the year-end Emirates ATP Rankings for the first time since 2013 and for the fourth time in his career (2008, 2010, 2013).
"Being No. 1 after all the things that I have been going through the last couple of years is something unbelievable, so [it] is, for me, an amazing achievement to be back to that position after [a] few years, three years," said Nadal
On 12 June, Nadal became the first player to qualify for the 2017 season-ending Nitto ATP Finals, to be held at The O2 in London from 12-19 November. It is the 13th straight year that he has qualified for the elite eight-player tournament.
