Rafael Nadal’s 18-year ‘miracle’ streak confirmed to come to an end
Rafael Nadal will expectedly leave the top 10 after 18-years, with Taylor Fritz’s quarter-final win in Acapulco confirming the Spaniard’s fate.
Nadal has been inside the ATP top 10 since the 25th April 2005, but will leave it after Indian Wells, following the confirmation that he would miss the sunshine double this year.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion was surprised that he had made it to this landmark, “It’s better to be top 10 then to be outside the top 10, but to be honest it’s a miracle that I never left the top 10 in 18 years with all the injuries I had.”
How does Rafael Nadal’s record compare to other streaks inside the top 10?
Nadal’s 912-week streak inside the top 10 is the longest in ATP history, but there is one player on the WTA tour that he has not managed to surpass.
Players with the most consecutive weeks inside the ATP top 10
- Rafael Nadal – 912 weeks
- Jimmy Connors – 788 weeks
- Roger Federer – 734 weeks
- Ivan Lendl – 619 weeks
- Pete Sampras – 565 weeks
- Novak Djokovic – 555 weeks
Players with the most consecutive weeks inside the ATP/WTA top 10
- Martina Navratilova – 1000 weeks
- Rafael Nadal – 912 weeks
- Jimmy Connors – 788 weeks
- Chris Evert – 746 weeks
- Roger Federer – 724 weeks
- Steffi Graf – 625 weeks
Nadal’s injuries make this feat even more surprising, and he has given fans an update on his most recent tear that he sustained at the Australian Open.
“It’s week by week checking how the problem evolves. The damage made in Australia was big. A big tear in my muscle, in a very difficult spot,” said Nadal.
“I have to be patient. Calendar is tough and I’m not 20-years-old anymore. I don’t know when I’m coming back. If in Monte Carlo, Barcelona or Madrid. I want to play so as soon as I can do it… I will”.
This statement may come as a surprise to many, with Nadal initially suggesting the recovery time for the grade two tear in his iliopsoas muscle to be around six to eight weeks.
Monte Carlo is the first of the events that Nadal mentioned, which begins around 11 weeks after he obtained the injury.
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