10 incredible stats that illustrate Rafael Nadal’s brilliant career

Rafael Nadal‘s impact on tennis spans much more than just the titles he won, or the achievements he earned on the court. The Spaniard’s will to win, never say die attitude, incredible fighting spirit and an ability to treat each point as if it was of the same importance, is a model for any young player trying to make it to the top.

But, the numbers are also incredible and so we’ve had a go at putting together 10 stats that illustrate how successful a career the Spaniard enjoyed.

14 French Open titles

Where else to start but at Roland-Garros, a place where Nadal won his first, and his last Grand Slam titles, and a venue that Nadal turned into his back yard. It’s virtually impossible to think that anyone could win more than 14 times at any of the Grand Slams, so his record seems set for eternity. From his first win, in 2005, against Mariano Puerta, to his last, against Casper Ruud in 2022, Nadal dominated clay, and Roland-Garros like no one before, pummelling his rivals into submission. He reached 14 finals there, and won the lot.

22 Grand Slam titles

Of course, Nadal was not just a clay-court expert. He turned himself into an all-court player, adapting his game for the faster surfaces and always looking to improve certain areas of his game. He won two Wimbledon titles, in 2008 and 2010, two Australian Opens, in 2009 and 2022 and four US Opens, in 2010, 2013, 2017 and 2019. His ability at the net was as good as any of his rivals and he found a way to win wherever he went.

81 straight wins on clay

From a first-round win over Gael Monfils in Monte-Carlo in 2005 through to a semi-final win over Lleyton Hewitt in Hamburg in 2005, Nadal won a record 81 straight matches on clay, breaking the previous record held by Bjorn Borg, who had won 46. In that run, he won Monte-Carlo, Barcelona and Rome three times, and two Roland-Garros titles, before Roger Federer ended the streak with victory in the Hamburg final. Nadal got his revenge soon after by beating Federer in the final at Roland-Garros as another streak began; he won 22 in a row before losing to Juan Carlos Ferrero in Rome when Nadal was severely hampered by blisters on his feet.

912 consecutive weeks in top 10

This is another record which will take some beating. From April 2005 to March 2023, Nadal spent every single week – 912 of them – inside the world’s top 10. When you consider the injuries he had throughout his career (he missed 14 slams alone through injury) it’s a record that shows how well he bounced back, physically and mentally, from his many absences, and how high his general level was. You can count the number of off-days Nadal suffered in that period on the fingers of one hand, just about.

17 years between first and last Grand Slam title

You can’t win a stack of Grand Slam titles without being around for a long time and Nadal’s longevity is something he’s doubtless immensely proud of, especially considering there were serious doubts about how long he might play the game as far back as the end of 2004, when a foot injury threatened his entire career. He won his first slam in Paris in 2005, won at least one slam every year until 2015 and pulled off a miracle at the Australian Open in 2022, when he came from two sets and a break down to beat Daniil Medvedev in the final, before winning a 14th and last major at the French Open later the same year.

92 career singles titles

Nadal’s record of 92 title wins puts him fifth on the all-time list, behind Jimmy Connors (109), Roger Federer (103), Novak Djokovic (99) and Ivan Lendl (94). The vast majority – 63 – came on his beloved clay, but he also won 25 on hard courts and four on grass. For good measure, he also won 11 career doubles titles.

209 weeks as world No 1

Again, it’s a mark of his sheer ability that he was able to be No 1 for so long. Nadal’s 209 weeks at No 1 puts him sixth in the all-time list. His reign at No 1 spanned eight different occasions, from the first time, in August 2008, shortly after he had won Wimbledon for the first time, to the last, from November 4, 2019 to Feb 2, 2020, at the grand old age of 33.

29 straight wins in singles in Davis Cup – 2004 to 2024

Put the Spain shirt on him and Nadal was virtually unbeatable, especially when playing Davis Cup. From 2004, he won 29 straight singles matches (32 including doubles) until he was beaten on what turned out to be his last ever professional appearance, against the Netherlands in 2024. His efforts helped Spain win the Davis Cup four times, in 2004, 2009, 2011 and 2019.

19 seasons in a row winning at least one title

Such was Nadal’s dominance on clay that providing he was fit, there was a pretty good chance he would win at least one title on the surface. But he also won at least one hard court or grass court title in all but four of those years, and in his last title-winning year, 2022, three of his four wins came on hard courts. His first win came in Sopot, Poland, in 2004 and his last, fittingly, came at Roland-Garros in 2022.

Olympic singles and doubles gold medals

As his Davis Cup record showed, Nadal enjoyed nothing more than playing for his country. At the 2008 Olympics, he won the gold medal in singles, beating Fernando Gonzalez in the final and then, in 2016, he partnered one of his best friends on Tour, Marc Lopez, to win the doubles gold too, beating Romania’s Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau in the final. He’s only the second man to win both singles and doubles gold since tennis was re-adopted as an Olympic sport in 1988, joining Nicolas Massu, the Chilean who won both in 2004.