5 Rafael Nadal achievements that will carry his legacy even after retirement
Rafael Nadal is known as one of the greatest sportspersons of all time. After reigning supreme in the world of tennis for more than two decades, his recent goodbye to tennis has made every sports lover emotional.
With 92 ATP titles and 22 Grand Slam titles -- second highest of all time, Nadal's contribution to the sport earned him the title of the Greatest of All Time, along with a place in the Big Three which he shares with Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.
While it's hard to list out his wide range of accolades, there are a few accomplishments of the Spaniard that are particularly noteworthy. Therefore, here are five Rafael Nadal achievements that will carry his glorious and unmatched legacy even after his retirement.
#5 Most titles won on clay
Rafael Nadal has won a total of 92 titles throughout his career and 63 of them have been won on clay, the most to have been won by any tennis player on a particular surface.
Hailed as the King of Clay, the Spaniard has 47 of these titles across just four tournaments, namely the French Open where he won 14 titles, Barcelona Open where he won 12 titles, Monte-Carlo Masters where he won 11 titles and the Italian Open where he has won 10 titles.
Additionally, Nadal has lost only eight finals on clay and remains unbeaten at any final in Roland Garros.
#4 Most consecutive weeks in the ATP Top 10
From 2008 to 2019, Rafael Nadal has held the ATP World No.1 rank multiple times in his career. Additionally, he also happens to have the maximum career wins over World No.1s.
For a very long time, between the late 2000s and mid-2010s, the World No. 1 ranking was held by different members of the Big Three - Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. All three dominated the tennis world during this period, often securing all or most of the Grand Slam titles in a single year.
When it comes to the ATP Top 10, Nadal holds the record for the longest streak of consecutive weeks as a member of this group wherein he stayed for 912 weeks which translates to almost 18 years.
#3 22 Grand Slam titles
Rafael Nadal won his 22nd and final Grand Slam at the 2022 French Open, a record that was later overtaken by Novak Djokovic. Despite being overtaken, he continues to be one of the first tennis players to reach this mark.
His list of achievements includes 14 French Open titles, four US Opens and two each at Australian Open and Wimbledon.
#2 Youngest tennis player to complete the Career Golden Slam
Nadal started leaving his mark on the international tennis arena soon after he stepped foot. He started challenging established players like Roger Federer and accomplished a lot in the initial years of his career too.
These accomplishments included completing a Career Slam, i.e. winning all four Grand Slams in one's career, something he did at the young age of 24 years, 3 months and 10 days at the 2010 US Open. By then, he had already won the other three Grand Slams at least once in his career.
But, that's not it as with the said achievement, the Spaniard also completed a Career Golden Slam - winning all four Grand Slams and an Olympic medal which he had won at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. This victory made him the youngest man in the history of the sport to achieve this feat. Before Nadal, the record was held by Andre Agassi who completed the Career Golden Slam at the age of 29.
Nadal continues to be one of only five players to have won the Career Golden Slam with Novak Djokovic being the latest entrant to this list of players.
#1 Record 14 French Open titles
One of the most notable achievements of Rafael Nadal that is almost synonymous with his name is the record 14 French Open titles. This not only makes him a record-holder at Roland Garros but also that of the tennis player with the highest number of Grand Slams won on a particular surface.
The King of Clay played 116 matches at the French Open and won 112 of them. His win percentage of 96.6% is the best of any player in a single Grand Slam event. He lost only four times at the French Open -- once to Robin Soderling in 2009, twice to Djokovic in 2015 and 2021, and lastly to Alexander Zverev in 2024 in what turned out to be his last appearance at the tournament.
Owing to his illustrious feat at Roland Garros, a 10ft steel sculpture of the King of Clay has stood at its gates since 2021.