Rafael Nadal recently hit the milestone of 20 million followers on Instagram even as his long absence from tennis continues. He extended his lead as the most-followed tennis player on the social media platform. He stands well beyond Serena Williams and his Big 3 counterparts, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.
Despite being the most-followed player in his sport, Nadal trails other superstar athletes by a large gap. NBA icon LeBron James boasts 158 million followers on Instagram, over 130 million clear of the Spaniard. Despite such numbers, James is nowhere near the top of the list of athletes with the highest follower count. Nadal, even more so, has a very long way to go before even coming close.
Rafael Nadal becomes first tennis player to get 20m Instagram followers
Nadal has been the most popular tennis player on Instagram for quite some time. He recently became the first from the sport to hit the 20 million mark on the platform. The Spaniard has always led the pack when it comes to online popularity, being the first tennis player to hit 17 million as well.
Rafael Nadal has not taken to the court since pulling out midway from the 2023 Australian Open. However, he gained over 1.5 million followers in the last three months to hit the 20 million milestone. This could be due to a large number of tennis fans following him for updates on his return to the tour.
Follower counts of other tennis players pale in comparison to that of Nadal. Williams is closest, standing second with 17 million fans on Instagram. Novak Djokovic and Federer are third and fifth, respectively, with 13.8 and 12 million followers. Taking the fourth spot between them is former India No.1 Sania Mirza, with 12.3 million followers.
🇪🇸 Rafael Nadal hits 20 million followers on Instagram, extending his lead for most followers of a Tennis Player, growing by more than 1.5 million in just over 3 months 👏
🇺🇸 Serena Williams – 17 Million
🇷🇸 Novak Djokovic – 13.7 Million
🇨🇭 Roger Federer – 12 Million pic.twitter.com/2CkKE9mTFx
— Olly 🎾🇬🇧 (@Olly_Tennis_) September 10, 2023
There is a clear gulf in numbers between tennis players and star athletes from other sports. The top 5 most followed tennis players combined have less than half the followers of Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, who has 158 million fans on Instagram. These numbers, however, get the American only into fifth position on the most-followed athletes list.
Brazilian football star Neymar Jr. and Indian cricketer Virat Kohli boast 214 and 258 million followers, respectively. The top two are in a league of their own. Lionel Messi (486 million) is second on the list, behind arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who has a whopping 604 million Instagram followers. The duo are the most followed individuals across all of the Meta-owned network.
Gap between Nadal and LeBron James shows gap between tennis and other sports
Nadal is one of the more active tennis players on Instagram with 1,345 posts on his account. Most of his recent ones are congratulatory posts for other players, posts about the Rafael Nadal Academy, or brand collaboration posts. The 22-time Grand Slam winner amassed 1 million followers in only eight months after joining Instagram, putting up 87 posts in that period. He has always been one of the most marketable names in tennis. His numerous brand deals have ensured that he has always stayed ahead of other players from his sport on Instagram.
LeBron James, however, remains a more lucrative name. He has been significantly more active than Nadal, posting 2,489 times. The American’s feed has a high number of personal posts, i.e., not promoting or advertising anything. He reportedly charges $300,000 per sponsored post, whereas Nadal only asks for roughly $57,000.
Messi and Ronaldo, meanwhile, apparently charge millions per commercial post on Instagram. Tennis and tennis players clearly have a long way to go before being at the same level financially as other global sports.
