Why is Rafael Nadal ranked only World No. 4 despite winning two Slams? Explaining the complicated uniqueness of tennis rankings
Rafael Nadal strolled to his 22nd Grand Slam title last Sunday, defeating Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 in the final of the 2022 French Open. The victory marked a record-extending 14th Roland Garros title for Nadal; he is the only man ever to win a single Slam more than nine times.
The Mallorcan also won the Australian Open earlier this year, defeating Daniil Medvedev in the final to become the first man in history to win 21 Majors. This is the first time in his career that Nadal has won both the Australian Open and the French Open in the same year.
In addition to that, the 22-time Grand Slam champion lifted the trophy at the Melbourne Summer Set in January, as well as the Mexican Open in February. At the Indian Wells Masters in March, the former World No. 1 reached the final before falling to Taylor Fritz.
Nadal has four titles to his name this season; no one has won more silverware than the Spaniard since the turn of the new year. Carlos Alcaraz is tied with him at four, while Andrey Rublev trails just behind with three trophies under his belt this year.
But for all his achievements, Rafael Nadal is only ranked World No. 4 at the moment. Despite winning 2,000 ranking points at the French Open this week, Nadal only managed to rise one spot from the No. 5 position he occupied at the start of the tournament.
Meanwhile Daniil Medvedev, who is yet to win a title this year, leads the ATP rankings. And Alexander Zverev, who also hasn't won any silverware in 2022, occupies the No. 2 spot.
Just ahead of Rafael Nadal is Novak Djokovic, who has one title to his name (Italian Open).
This has led to a lot of furor on social media, with many wondering why someone who has won the two biggest tournaments of the year isn't leading the rankings. While that is an understandable question, it is nothing new in tennis. And the answer is quite simple, really: rolling rankings.
I feel like the current situation reflects that there are times when the rankings mean a lot and other times when they don’t. Nadal might be #4, but he’s been the best player in the world since the start of the year, really. twitter.com/ptbodo/status/…
A rolling ranking system means that players only hold the ranking points they earn in a 52-week period. Once the 2022 edition of a tournament is complete, all the points someone collected from the 2021 edition will drop off.
For instance, Novak Djokovic was the champion of the 2021 French Open and lost in the quarterfinals this year. The Serb, therefore, lost 2,000 points and gained only 360 points.
In 2010, Djokovic was ranked #2 with one GS semifinal and one M1000 title on his ranking.
(Current #2 Zverev has two GS semifinals, YEC title and an M1000 title.)
In 2016, Nadal was ranked #4 with 3R as his best GS result and one M1000 title.
(Current #4 Nadal has two GS titles.)
Medvedev, meanwhile, gained 180 points for his fourth-round finish this year and lost 360 points from a quarterfinal appearance in 2021. The net difference being much bigger for Djokovic ensured that he dropped below the Russian in the updated rankings.
Nadal reached the semifinals last year, meaning that he gained 2,000 points and lost 720 points for a net gain of 1,280. Zverev reached the semifinals in Paris in 2021, and thanks to another semifinal run this year, neither gained nor lost any points last week.
Zverev and Medvedev are basically being rewarded for having strong second halves of 2021.
Medvedev won Mallorca, Toronto, US Open and reached the finals at Bercy and Turin.
Sasha won Vienna, Cincy, Turin and made the SF at Bercy and USO.
Due to the nature of the 52-week rolling schedule, players are simply reaping the rewards now for having had a strong second half of the season last year. Medvedev won the US Open (2,000 points), the Canada Masters (1,000 points) and the Mallorca Championships (250 points) in 2021.
Furthermore, the Russian also finished as the runner-up at the Paris Masters (600 points) and the ATP Finals (1,000 points).
Dunno what is more tragicomic:
— Novak fans believing Medvedev at No. 1 is a conspiracy by the sinister Federer and Nadal, or
— Rafa fans wondering how come a player who missed 2 of 4 slams, YEC and 6 of 9 M1000s in the past 52 weeks is not No. 1.
Zverev, on his part, won the ATP Finals (1,300 points), the Cincinnati Masters (1,000 points) and the Vienna Open (500 points). He also reached the semifinals of the Paris Masters (360 points) and the US Open (720 points).
Djokovic scored titles at Wimbledon (2,000 points) and the Paris Masters (1,000 points), while finishing as the runner-up at the US Open (1,200 points). He also progressed to the semifinals of the ATP Finals (600 points).
Almost like players ranking at the top of the game is usually defined by 10-15 tournament results and not one, two or even five.
Unfortunately for Rafael Nadal, he had to end his season early last year due to a foot injury. The World No. 4 played only one event after the French Open, falling in the third round of the ATP 500 Washington Open.
It makes complete sense, therefore, that Nadal remains only fourth in the ATP rankings despite all the success he has had this year. But as the season progresses, it will become easier for the 22-time Grand Slam champion to climb up the rankings compared to the others, who have a lot more to lose than him.
The Race to Turin is a better reflection of how a player has performed in a single year, which Rafael Nadal leads at the moment
To assess the performance of a player over a single season, the ATP Race to Turin is a better tool than the ATP rankings. The Race only takes into account the points a player has earned in a calendar year and understandably, Rafael Nadal is in the driver's seat there at the moment.
Right now the Race to Turin is a more accurate measure to judge rankings. I’d just add whatever points they would otherwise earn at Wimbledon depending on the round they reach and adding that to the pre-Wimbledon total should be more reflective I think. #realracepoints twitter.com/ptbodo/status/…
With 5,620 points to his name, the Mallorcan has a comfortable lead over second-placed Carlos Alcaraz, who has earned 3,820 points in 2022. World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev is in eighth position with his haul of 2,230 points, while World No. 2 Alexander Zverev has earned 2,700 points and remains in fifth position.
World No. 3 Novak Djokovic, meanwhile, has earned 1,970 points in 2022 so far and occupies the ninth spot in the Race to Turin.