To celebrate the end of Rafael Nadal's historic career at this week's Davis Cup Final 8, ATPTour.com is publishing a series of articles paying tribute to the Spaniard. View our #RafaSiempre series.
Nadal’s first ATP Tour win against Ramon Delgado on the clay of his native Mallorca at the age of 15 was the first step in a legendary career that stretched across more than twenty years. The Spaniard has left in his wake an inordinate number of records that future generations will find hugely difficult to break.
ATPTour.com takes a look at the most significant stats of the Manacor native’s 22-season career.
[ATP AWARDS]14 titles at one Grand Slam
Nadal's Roland Garros record is probably the most spectacular of his career. After winning his first ‘Musketeer’s Trophy’ on his first appearance at the season's second major in 2005, he went on to claim a total of 14 titles (2005-08, 2010-14, 2017-2020, 2022) on the Paris clay. The mark puts him four ahead of his nearest challenger in terms of titles at one Grand Slam: Novak Djokovic with 10 Australian Opens.
Dear Rafa,
It has been a privilege to watch you evolve on our clay, where you will leave a perpetual mark on such a challenging surface.
We're proud to count you as our greatest champion, as much for your 14 titles as for the man you are. Your legacy will live on forever, on… pic.twitter.com/xJ9P96gRaM
10 titles or more at four different tournaments
It was not only at Roland Garros where Nadal built an empire. He also stamped his dominance on other stages, where it became habitual to see him claim the trophy year after year. At the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell he won 12 times, leading the tournament to name its centre court after him. At the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, an ATP Masters 1000 event, he won 11 titles, while the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome provided him with 10 crowns. The four tournaments make up for 47 of his total of 92 titles (51%).
Youngest player to win the ‘Golden Slam’
Only a few chosen ones in the history of tennis can boast to having won all four majors (Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, US Open), as well as an Olympic gold medal. Nadal topped the Olympic podium in Beijing in 2008, and later joined Andre Agassi as the only players in the men’s game – to complete the career 'Golden Slam' by winning the 2010 US Open, at the age of 24 years, 3 months, and 10 days. Novak Djokovic joined the exclusive club in 2024 when he won the Olympics singles gold medal in Paris.
Photo Credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Most titles on clay
When Nadal’s career began, the record for titles on clay was 49. It belonged to a specialist on the surface in Argentina’s Guillermo Vilas. The Manacor native not only broke that record, he did so by a considerable margin, reaching 63. There were 18 years before his first clay crown, in Sopot in 2004, and his last, at Roland Garros in 2022.
10 straight years winning Grand Slams
The former No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings Nadal not only has 22 Grand Slam titles to his name, he also racked them up season after season, allowing him to stay near the very top for so long. Nadal is the only player who managed to win at least one major for 10 consecutive years. Between 2005 and 2014 he won the 2009 Australian Open; the 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 Roland Garros crown; Wimbledon in 2008 and 2010; and the US Open in 2010 and 2013.
Grand Slam titles on every surface in one year
His ability to compete at the top level on every surface became clear in 2010, when he won a Grand Slam on clay (Roland Garros), grass (Wimbledon) and hard courts (US Open) in the same year. He was the first to do so since Rod Laver in 1969. Years later, in 2021, Novak Djokovic also achieved the feat at the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
Most wins against a No. 1
Nadal was able to compete toe-to-toe with the best versions of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, respectively, regularly squaring off against them when they were occupying the No. 1 spot in the PIF ATP Rankings. In fact, the Spaniard holds the record for the most wins against the best player in the world (23), beating Federer 13 times when he was at the top of the rankings and Djokovic 10 times. His first came against Federer at the Miami ATP Masters 1000 in 2004.
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Completing the Grand Slam twice
Winning all four majors is a privilege that only eight men have experienced in the history of the game. Nadal, though, has had the pleasure twice over (he has won every Grand Slam at least two times). Rod Laver was the first to achieve the feat, while Djokovic would later repeat it.
Most straight wins on one surface
One of the hottest streaks Nadal ever produced began in the first round at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters on 11 April, 2005 against Gael Monfils. It ended in the final of the ATP Masters 1000 in Hamburg on 14 May 2007 against Roger Federer. In that period, the Spaniard won every single match he played on clay, giving him the record for the most consecutive wins on one surface (81).
‘Clay Slam’
In 2010, Nadal became the only player to win all of the clay tournaments at Grand Slam and Masters 1000 level in one season. He strung together titles at the Masters 1000 events in Monte-Carlo (his sixth title in the Principality), Rome (the fifth) and Madrid (the second). He also put the icing on the cake at the clay Grand Slam event in Paris, with his fifth Roland Garros crown.
Practically invincible on clay over five sets
In total, throughout his career, the Balearic Islander played 535 matches on clay, with a record 484 wins and 51 defeats. That equates to a 90.5 per cent win record on the surface. However, when he competed in best-of-five-set matches, his success rate was close to perfection. He faced 141 such encounters, with a record of 137-4, which is a return rate of 97.1%.
Most titles as a teenager
Nadal started the 2005 season at 18 years of age and ended it at 19. As a teenager, he produced the most prolific season of his career and nobody, so far, has matched him at such a young age. That year he won eleven titles in Costa do Sauipe, Acapulco, Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome, Roland Garros, Bastad, Stuttgart, Canada, Beijing and Madrid, all added to the title he won in Sopot in 2004. Interestingly, the season included his only ever title on indoor hard courts (Madrid).
Photo Credit: Julian Finney/Getty Images
Editor's note: This story was translated from ATPTour.com/es
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