Rafael Nadal was statistically the best returner in 2020, followed by Novak Djokovic & Diego Schwartzman
Despite the complexities brought on to the men's tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Rafael Nadal had a breakthrough season in 2020. He won a record-extending 13th French Open title, and in doing so, equaled Roger Federer's record of 20 Grand Slam titles.
A 1000th career match-win and the record for most weeks spent in the top 10 of the world rankings soon followed suit to round off an excellent year for the Spaniard.
But Nadal, last seen in the semifinal of the Nitto ATP Finals 2020 in London, has also found himself topping the statistical charts for something unexpected - having the most effective return on tour.
Rafael Nadal tops the list with a rating of 174
As per the statistics recorded by the ATP on their official website, Rafael Nadal was best returner on tour in 2020, narrowly edging long-time rival Novak Djokovic. The basis used for the ranking was a combination of first serve return points won, second serve return points won, return games won and break points converted.
Rafael Nadal leads the pack with an overall rating of 174, followed by Novak Djokovic who has a rating of 166.6 and Diego Schwartzman who is rated 166.4.
The Spaniard leads the overall field of players in the first serve return and return game categories, whereas Diego Schwartzman holds the title for being the most ruthless on the second serve.
The Argentine, who qualified for the year-end championships for the first time this year, had a 57.1% success rate while returning second serves.
Italian sensation Jannik Sinner is also in the top 10 returners of the year (8th), and Australia No. 2 Nick Kyrgios was the least wasteful player in terms of conversion of break points (success rate of 48.2%).
Novak Djokovic is considered by many to be the greatest returner in the history of the men's game. His second place on the list and failure to lead in any of the key parameters could be due to the fact that he played more matches than many of the top 10.
Roger Federer, who has played just one tournament - the Australian Open - in the last 52 weeks, finds himself at No. 12 on the list. Perhaps most surprisingly though, US Open champion Dominic Thiem is only placed 23rd.
The stop-start season may not have given the most accurate results this year, but to find his name on top of the list would have surely pleased Rafael Nadal. It also serves as proof of the newfound aggression the 34-year-old has employed since his return to the summit of men's tennis in 2017.