Rafael Nadal records that may never be broken: French Open dominance, top-10 streak, Grand Slams in three decades
Updated 20/11/2024 at 15:34 GMT
Rafael Nadal retires from tennis as one of the all-time greats, but what records does he hold that might never be broken? Nadal, 38, bowed out following Spain's defeat to the Netherlands in the quarter-finals of the Davis Cup. He won 22 Grand Slam titles, spent 209 weeks as world No. 1, and won the Davis Cup five times. He was also almost unbeatable at the French Open.
Nadal bids tearful farewell as career ends with Davis Cup Finals defeat
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Rafael Nadal's tennis career is officially over.
The King of Clay retired amid emotional scenes in Malaga following Spain"s Davis Cup quarter-final defeat to the Netherlands.
Nadal steps away as one of the all-time greats of the game.
Described by former Spain and Real Madrid striker Raul as the "best sportsperson in history", Nadal won 22 Grand Slam titles, spent 209 weeks as world No. 1, and won the Davis Cup five times.
He also holds some incredible records that may never be broken.
French Open records
It was at the French Open where Nadal was at his dazzling best.
He finishes his career with 14 French Open titles and an incredible 112-4 win-loss record at Roland-Garros.
No other player in tennis history has won the same Grand Slam more than 11 times - Margaret Court's total at the Australian Open.
Roger Federer's most successful slam was Wimbledon, which he won eight times, and Novak Djokovic's has been the Australian Open, where he is a 10-time winner.
Neither dominated those events as Nadal did at the French Open.
Of his 112 victories at the Grand Slam, 90 were in straight sets, while he had three winning streaks stretching over 30 matches and a remarkable run of winning 36 sets in a row from 2016 to 2018.
He also never lost in the final of the French Open.
Most consecutive weeks top 10
As he said himself, Nadal"s career has come to an end as his "body doesn"t want to play anymore".
But given the physical demands of his intense playing style, Nadal's body actually held up remarkably well over the last 20 years.
That is demonstrated by his incredible top-10 streak.
Nadal first broke into the top 10 on April 25, 2005 and never left until March 20, 2023.
His run of 912 straight weeks in the top 10 is the longest in ATP history by a distance and well clear of Roger Federer's best of 742 weeks.
Only Martina Navratilova with 1,000 weeks has spent more consecutive weeks in the top 10 than Nadal.
Most consecutive ATP weeks in top 10
| Player | Consecutive weeks in Top 10 |
| Rafael Nadal | 912 |
| Jimmy Connors | 789 |
| Roger Federer | 742 |
| Ivan Lendl | 619 |
| Pete Sampras | 565 |
Multiple Slams in three decades
Another record that speaks to Nadal's longevity is that he won multiple Grand Slam titles over three different decades.
Only seven players in history have won at least one major over three different decades, but Nadal is the only player to have won two or more.
In the 2000s he won six Grand Slams, in the 2010s he won 13, and in the 2020s he won three.
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Given Djokovic is unlikely to be winning Grand Slam titles in the 2030s, this is a record that will stand for some time.
Nadal is also the only player in history to hold the world No. 1 ranking in three different decades.
He first became world No. 1 in 2008 and spent 209 weeks total at the top of the rankings, with his last week in February 2020.
Most wins over world No. 1
Nadal burst onto the scene when he shocked world No. 1 Roger Federer as a 17-year-old in Miami in 2004.
That was the first of Nadal's 23 victories against a world No. 1 - the most in history on either the ATP or WTA tours.
Second in the list is Boris Becker with 19, ahead of Martina Navratilova with 18.
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Novak Djokovic currently has 16 wins against world No. 1s, while Federer finished his career with 10.
All of Nadal's victories over a world No. 1 were against either Federer or Djokovic.
He beat Federer 13 times when he was top of the rankings and notched 10 wins against Djokovic when he was No. 1.
Nadal's last win against a world No. 1 came against Djokovic in the quarter-finals of the 2022 French Open.
Youngest to win Career Golden Slam
When Nadal won his first US Open title in 2010 at the age of 24, he became the youngest man in the Open era to win all four Grand Slams.
As he had won the Olympics two years earlier in Beijing, he also became the youngest to complete the Career Golden Slam.
Nadal's fellow Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz could break his Career Slam record by winning the Australian Open in the next three seasons.
Jannik Sinner could also do so if he wins the French Open and Wimbledon next year.
But both will be beyond the age of 24 by the time of the next Olympics in 2028 so won't be able to threaten Nadal's Career Golden Slam record.
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