Legendary tennis player Rafael Nadal shocked the world with the sudden announcement of his retirement from the sport on Thursday. After prolonged fitness issues, the Spaniard has decided to draw the curtains on his illustrious career, with his final appearance set for the Davis Cup in November.
With a total of 22 Grand Slam titles to his name, Rafa has also set numerous records that will be difficult for the next generation of tennis players to surpass. Here are five of them:
Youngest player to win a singles match at Davis Cup
In December 2004, Rafael Nadal etched a record that no one has been able to beat so far. At the age of 18, he became the youngest player ever to win a singles match in a Davis Cup final after beating America’s Andy Roddick. His victory ultimately helped his country lift the Davis Cup that year.
Most number of Davis Cup title wins
Rafa has a total of five Davis Cup titles to his name. Spain won the team tournament in 2004, 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2019.
Given the tournament’s declining popularity among fans and the players’ busy schedules that force them to skip the Davis Cup, it’s a massive challenge for anyone to achieve the same level of success as Nadal with his country.
Most number of French Open matches and title wins
The French Open is where the Spaniard earned the title “King of Clay” because of his exceptional record. Making his debut in 2005, Rafa played a total of 116 matches at Roland Garros, losing only four of them.
Rafa won the French Open title for a record 14 times — most by any tennis player. It is a record that will be difficult for any player to match in the future.
Masters 1000 and 500 titles on clay
Other than his success at the clay surface Grand Slam, he has also performed beyond expectations while playing in the clay court Masters 1000 and 500 tournaments.
Having won a total of 25 clay-court titles in ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, he won the Monte Carlo Masters 11 times, the Rome Masters 10 times, and the Madrid Open four times. His title count in ATP 500 tournaments is 12, with all of them coming in the Barcelona Open. In total, Nadal has won 63 titles on clay.
16 consecutive years of qualifying for the ATP Finals
From 2005 to 2020, the Spaniard qualified for the ATP Tour finals a record 16 years consecutively. His 17th and final appearance at the finals came two years ago, in 2022. This marks the second-highest number of qualifications a player has earned for the ATP finals, with Roger Federer holding the top spot with 18 qualifications.
