Rafael Nadal recently announced his unfortunate withdrawal from the 2024 Australian Open after yet another injury. This marks the 15th time he will miss a Grand Slam tournament entirely. The Spaniard extended his lead over Big 3 rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in this unenviable record.
After spending a year on the sidelines, Nadal looked in good touch during the 2024 Brisbane International tournament. His journey ended in the quarter-finals against Jordan Thompson despite holding match points. The former World No.1 later revealed he had suffered a micro-tear in his leg muscles that would keep him out for three months.
The 2024 Australian Open is the third instance of Nadal entirely skipping the first Slam of the season. He had previously not featured in the 2006 and 2013 editions. Overall, he had now missed a whopping 15 Grand Slams since his first appearance at the 2003 Wimbledon Championships.
The 2024 Australian Open is the 82nd Slam tournament in tennis since his Majors debut. The 2020 Wimbledon Championships were called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nadal has participated in 67 out of those 82 Slam events.
Despite missing 15 tournaments, he secured 22 Grand Slam titles. Mathematically, he has won one out of every three Majors he featured in, an incredible ratio. In addition to the three Australian Opens, he has sat out of five Wimbledons and US Opens each. He skipped his favourite event, the French Open, only twice in 2004 and 2023.
Federer pulled out of 11 Grand Slam tournaments, all from 2016-2022. Since featuring in the qualifiers of the 1999 Australian Open, the Swiss legend participated in every Majors tournament until he skipped the 2016 French Open. Thereafter, he played sparsely until his retirement in September 2022.
Djokovic, meanwhile, has missed only three Majors since his debut at the 2005 AO. Interestingly, he had to sit out of the 2022 Australian Open and US Open because of anti-vaccination beliefs after the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the 2017 US Open is the only Grand Slam the Serb has missed due to injuries.
Rafael Nadal achieved incredible Grand Slam numbers like Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer despite missing many editions
Rafael Nadal winning 22 Grand Slams despite missing 15 is no mean feat. Add to that the eight finals he has lost, means he reached the summit clash 30 out of 67 times. His Big 3 rivals were the ones who denied him more Grand Slam titles, defeating him in seven of the eight finals. The 2014 Australian Open is the only exception, where Nadal lost to Stan Wawrinka in the championship match.
Federer, in comparison, lifted 20 Grand Slams and finished runner-up on 11 occasions in 83 appearances. Despite playing 16 fewer tournaments, Nadal won more Majors titles, a testament to his resilience and talent. He has struggled with chronic knee tendinitis since his younger days, which caused him to miss multiple Grand Slams. However, he bounced back strongly every time to achieve Grand Slam greatness and build a legacy. His domination of the French Open is unparalleled for any event in tennis.
Djokovic, however, is in a league of his own. Playing 72 Grand Slams, he has won a record 24 and finished second a further 12 times. This means he has reached the final in half of the Majors he has featured in. The World No.1 could have added one or two more trophies, had it not been for the COVID-19 pandemic. Even Nadal tipped his hat to Djokovic’s fitness.
