List of career achievements by Rafael Nadal

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This article lists various career, tournament, and seasonal achievements by the Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal.

Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal has won 14 Grand Slam titles which ranks him second on the all-time list tied with Pete Sampras second to Roger Federer’s record of 17 majors. Nadal has also won 28 Masters 1000 titles.

Rafael Nadal is widely viewed as one of the greatest tennis players of all time and is viewed by some sports analysts, tennis writers, fans and media pundits as the greatest tennis player of the open era. Nadal has appeared in 20 Grand Slam finals which is second to Federer’s record of 27 finals, he has appeared in at least three finals per major and has won multiple majors on hard courts, clay and grass. Nadal has won the Career Grand Slam and is the youngest player to achieve this feat having won all four majors by the age of 24. Known as the “King of Clay” Nadal’s record of winning the French Open 9 out of 10 attempts (90% win rate), and a match record of 66-1 which is a 98.5% win rate, from 2005 to 2014 is viewed by many analysts as one of the greatest feats in the Open era. Nadal won the French Open on his first attempt as a 19-year-old in 2005 and went on to make three consecutive title defences from 2005 to 2008; he defeated Roger Federer in three consecutive finals from 2006 to 2008 (he also defeated Federer in the 2005 semi-finals) and again in 2011 (Nadal is the only player to defeat Federer in four finals at the same major). His sole loss during this period came to Robin Soderling in 2009. Nadal then went on to win the French Open in 2010 and another four consecutive title defences from 2010 to 2014 (an open era record). He holds a match record of 72–2 in best-of-five matches (never actually taken to five sets in the final) from 2005 to 2016 achieving a win percentage of 97.3%, and is the only player to achieve this type of dominance at any single Grand Slam tournament. Nadal won the French Open an all-time record of 9 times and is the first and only male player to win 9 grand slams at a single major in the Open era (no other player has won more than 7 titles at a single major). Nadal is also undefeated in French Open finals holding a perfect 9–0 record when reaching the finals.

Nadal has won 28 masters 1000 titles of which are 20 Masters 1000 titles on clay and an all-time record 9 Grand Slam titles on clay as well as 49 titles overall on clay. He won at least one Masters 1000 title every year for ten years from 2005 to 2014 and is the only player to achieve this type of consistency in the open era. He owns the longest single surface win streak on any single surface having won 81 consecutive matches on clay courts from 2006 to 2007 which is an all-time record in men’s tennis. Nadal also won a record of 8 consecutive Monte Carlo Masters 1000 titles from 2005 to 2012, and a record nine titles including his 2016 win. Nadal has also won an Open era record 7 titles in Rome and 9 titles at the Barcelona Open, an ATP500 event. Nadal is the only player to have won all three clay court Masters 1000 events in the same calendar year along with the French Open in 2010 thus giving him the "Clay Slam".

Nadal won at least one Grand Slam tournament for 10 years (2005 – 2014) having broken the previous men's record of 8. Nadal has achieved a record 9 titles at three different tournaments: French Open (9), Monte Carlo (9), and Barcelona (9). He has accrued 27 titles from these three clay court tournaments alone.

Nadal’s success does not hold strictly to the clay courts. He has achieved considerable success on hard courts and grass courts obtaining multiple Grand Slams outside of the French Open having won 1 Australian Open, 2 Wimbledon titles and 2 US Open titles. Furthermore, Nadal is the second Spaniard to win Wimbledon and he is only the third player in the Open era to win the French Open and Wimbledon crowns, also known as the "Channel Slam", in 2008 and 2010, and the first player since Bjorn Borg, in 1980, to achieve this feat. Nadal is the first Spaniard to win the Australian Open and the first male player in the Open era to simultaneously hold Grand Slams on clay, grass and hard courts which he has achieved twice. Nadal won the Olympic gold medal in singles in Beijing (2008) on hard courts (defeating Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals), the Olympic gold medal in doubles in Rio De Janeiro (2016), and has won 8 Masters 1000 titles on hard courts. Nadal dominated the North American hard court season in 2013, having won the Canadian Open and Cincinnati masters as well as the US Open, thus giving him the "Summer Slam". Additionally, earlier in the year, Nadal also won his third Indian Wells title, also played on hard courts. He would finish 2013 with a 36-4 record on hard courts and coupled with his 39-2 record on clay courts, he became the first player to win 35 or more matches on both hard courts and clay courts.

All time tournament records[edit]

  • These records were attained since the amateur era (1877) and the Open Era of tennis (1968).
  • Records in bold indicate peerless achievements.
  • Records in italics are currently active streaks.
Tournament Since Record Accomplished Players Tied
Grand Slams 1877 Roland Garros (9) - Most titles won at a single Grand Slam tournament Stands alone
Won three grand slams on 3 different surfaces in the same calendar year Stands alone
10 consecutive years of winning 1+ grand slam title (2005 - 2014) Stands alone
Simultaneous holder of Olympic singles gold medal and Majors on clay, grass, and hard court Stands alone
Achieved the Career Grand Slam + Olympic Singles Gold medal + Olympic Doubles Gold Medal Stands alone
Youngest men's player to achieve a Career Grand Slam (Aged 24) Stands alone
3 consecutive runner ups Stands alone
ATP World Tour 1970 Highest overall clay court match win percentage - 91.48% (365-34) Stands alone
Only male player to win two Olympic gold medals in singles and doubles in two separate Olympics in open era Stands alone
Won Rome Masters, Monte Carlo Masters and French Open for three consecutive years (2005-2007) Stands alone
Won Monte Carlo and French Open for four consecutive years (2005-2008) Stands alone
8 consecutive titles at any single tournament Stands alone
46 match win streak at any single tournament (Monte Carlo) Stands alone
Longest single surface win streak (Clay courts - 81) Stands alone
9 titles at three tournaments (Roland Garros, Monte Carlo, and Barcelona) Stands alone
27 titles won from three tournaments (9 each at Barcelona, Monte Carlo & French Open) Stands alone
ATP Masters 1000 1970 Monte Carlo (9) - Most titles won at a single Masters 1000 tournament Stands alone
20 clay court titles overall Stands alone
10 consecutive years of winning 1+ clay court title (2005 - 2014) Stands alone
10 consecutive years of winning 1+ masters title (2005 - 2014) Stands alone
8 consecutive Monte Carlo Masters titles Stands alone
7 titles in 9 years at Rome Masters (2005-2013) Stands alone
7+ titles at two tournaments (Monte Carlo Masters and Rome Masters) Stands alone
3+ titles at three clay tournaments (Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome) Stands alone
Clay Slam (Won all three clay court tournaments in 2010 calendar season) Stands alone
6 years winning Monte Carlo and Rome Masters (2005-2007, 2009-2010 & 2012) Stands alone
ATP 500 Series 1990 17 ATP 500 Series titles Roger Federer
12 consecutive years winning at least one 500 series title per year (2005-2016) Stands alone
Barcelona Open (9) - Most titles won at a single 500 series tournament Stands alone
French Open 1891 9 men's singles titles Stands alone
Monte Carlo Masters 1897 9 men's singles titles Stands alone
Rome Masters 1930 7 men's singles titles Stands alone
Barcelona Open 1953 9 men's singles titles Stands alone

Grand Slam tournament records[edit]

  • These records were attained in the Open Era of tennis, since 1968.
  • Records in bold indicate peer-less achievements.
  • Records in italics are currently active streaks.
Grand Slams Year(s) Record Accomplished Player Tied
Australian Open

French Open

Wimbledon

US Open

Olympics

2008,2010 Career Golden Slam (Won Olympic singles gold medal and all four majors) Andre Agassi
2010 Career Grand Slam Rod Laver
Andre Agassi
Roger Federer
Novak Djokovic
2008, 2010, 2016 Won the Olympic Singles Gold medal, Career Grand Slam, and Olympic Doubles Gold medal Stands alone
French Open

Wimbledon

US Open

2010 3 consecutive grand slams on 3 different surfaces in the same calendar year Stands alone
Won Grand slams on clay, grass, and hard court in a single calendar year Stands alone
Simultaneous holder of Majors on clay, grass, and hard court in a single season Stands alone
Won 3 consecutive grand slams in a single calendar year Rod Laver
French Open

US Open

2010, 2013 Winner of both majors in a single season in two calendar seasons Ivan Lendl
French Open - US Open 2005-2010 Youngest men's player to achieve a Career Grand Slam (Aged 24) Stands alone
2+ majors on Grass, Clay, and Hard courts (2 titles on grass, 9 on clay and 3 on hard) Mats Wilander
Australian Open - US Open 2005-2014 Won at least one grand slam title for 10 consecutive years Stands alone
French Open 2005-2008, 2010-2014 Most titles won at a single Grand Slam tournament - Roland Garros (9) Stands alone
French Open

Wimbledon

Australian Open

2008-2009 Simultaneous holder of grand slams won across clay, grass, and hard court Roger Federer
Novak Djokovic
French Open

Wimbledon

Olympics

Australian Open

Simultaneous holder of Olympic singles gold medal and grand slams on clay, grass, and hard court Stands alone
Simultaneous holder of Olympic singles gold medal and three grand slam titles Andre Agassi
Wimbledon - Australian Open 2011-2012 3 consecutive runner ups Stands alone
French Open

Wimbledon

Olympics

2008 Simultaneous holder of Olympic singles gold medal and Wimbledon Andy Murray
Winner of Olympic singles gold medal and two grand slams in a single calendar year Stands alone
French Open - Wimbledon 2005-2008, 2010-2014 Winner of a combined 11 French Open & Wimbledon major titles (9 & 2 combination) Björn Borg
2008, 2010 Accomplished a "Channel Slam": Won both tournaments in the same year Rod Laver

Björn Borg

Roger Federer

  • Rafael Nadal is the only player in the history of mens tennis to win at least one grand slam for ten consecutive years (2005-2014). He surpassed the previous record of eight years which was held by Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, & Roger Federer.
  • Nadal is the only player in the open era to win three consecutive grand slams on three different surfaces, he is the only player to achieve this feat which he did in 2010 and is the only player to hold three majors on three different surfaces within the same year. Nadal is also the youngest player to win all four grand slams at least once, having won the US Open in 2010 he achieved the "Career Grand Slam".

Records at each Grand Slam Tournament[edit]

  • These records were attained in the Open Era of tennis, since 1968.
  • Records in bold indicate peer-less achievements.
  • Records in italics are currently active streaks.
Tournament Year(s) Record Accomplished Players Tied
Australian Open 2012 Longest Grand Slam final (by duration) vs. Novak Djokovic[a] Novak Djokovic
French Open 2005 Won title on the first attempt Mats Wilander
2005-2008

2010-2014

9 titles Stands alone
9 semi finals overall Stands alone
9 finals overall Stands alone
Undefeated W/L record in finals (9-0) Stands alone
2005-2016 72 match wins Stands alone
2005-2008 4 consecutive titles Björn Borg
2010-2014 5 consecutive titles Stands alone
5 consecutive finals[3] Stands alone
2010-2015 39 consecutive match wins Stands alone
2005-2016 Highest match winning percentage - 97.30% (72–2) Stands alone
2007-2012 5 finals reached without losing a set Stands alone
2008, 2010 2 wins without losing a set[3] Björn Borg
US Open 2013 Won as US Open Series Champion Andy Roddick

Patrick Rafter

  • Nadal is the first and only player to win a record 8+ titles at any grand slam tournament, he is the first and only player in the open era to win more than eight titles at any major and the first and only player to win 9 titles at any grand slam tournament.
  • Nadal is the first and only player in the open era to be undefeated in his first 8 grand slam finals at any single major tournament, he is a record 9-0 in French Open finals and surpassed Bjorn Bjorg's record of 6-0 at the French Open and Pete Sampras's finals record of 7-0 at Wimbledon.

ATP Masters 1000 records[edit]

Year (s) Record Accomplished Players Tied
2005-2012, 2016 Monte Carlo (9) - Most titles won at a single Masters 1000 tournament Stands alone
2005-2014 Won at least one Masters 1000 title for ten consecutive years Stands alone
Won at least one Clay Court Masters 1000 title for ten consecutive years Stands alone
1+ titles at three clay tournaments Novak Djokovic

Ivan Lendl

2+ titles at three clay tournaments
3+ titles at three clay tournaments Stands alone
2005-2016 60 semi-finals Stands alone
2009-2010 9 consecutive semi finals Stands alone
2005-2016 20 clay court titles Stands alone
2005-2015 7 tournaments won without dropping a set Novak Djokovic
2013 Appearance in finals of all 9 Masters 1000 tournaments Ivan Lendl
Roger Federer
Novak Djokovic
4 consecutive titles (Rome, Madrid, Canada & Cincinnati) Novak Djokovic
4 consecutive titles won in a single season Stands alone
8 semi-finals reached in a single season Novak Djokovic
2008-2010 21 consecutive quarter-finals Stands alone
2005-2013 7 titles in 9 years (Rome Masters) Stands alone
2005-2014 7+ titles at two tournaments (Monte Carlo Masters and Rome Masters) Stands alone
2010 Clay Slam (Won all four clay court tournaments in a calendar year) Stands alone
2013 Winner of three North American hard court tournaments in a single calendar season (Indian Wells, Canada, Cincinnati) Stands alone
Summer Slam (Won Canada, Cincinnati, and the US Open all consecutively) Patrick Rafter

Andy Roddick

Canada - Cincinnati title double won consecutively Patrick Rafter

Andy Roddick

Andre Agassi

2005-2007, 2009-2010

2012

6 years winning both titles - Monte Carlo & Rome Stands alone
2008 Winner of singles and doubles tournament at the same tournament and in the same year (Monte Carlo Masters) Jim Courier
2011, 2013 5 consecutive finals Novak Djokovic

Records at each ATP 500 Series & Masters 1000 tournament[edit]

Tournament Year(s) Record Accomplished Players Tied
Monte Carlo Masters 2005-2012, 2016 9 titles Stands alone
2005-2012 8 consecutive titles Stands alone
2005-2013 9 consecutive finals Stands alone
2005-2013, 2016 10 finals overall Stands alone
2005-2013 46 Match win streak Stands alone
Italian Open (Rome) 2005-2007. 2009-2010, 2012-2013 7 titles Stands alone
2005-2014 9 finals overall Stands alone
2009-2014 6 consecutive finals Stands alone
2005-2007 3 consecutive titles Stands alone
Madrid Open 2008,2010, 2013-2014 4 titles Stands alone
2013-2014 2 consecutive titles Stands alone
2005, 2009-11, 2013-15 7 finals overall Stands alone
2007-2011 5 consecutive finals Stands alone
Barcelona Open 2005-2009, 2011-2013, 2016 9 titles Stands alone
9 finals Stands alone
Undefeated in nine finals (9-0) Stands alone
2005-2009 5 consecutive titles Stands alone
  • Nadal is the first player to win 25+ Masters 1000 titles in the open era, he surpassed Ivan Lendl's record of 22 in 2013.
  • Nadal is the only player in the open era to win 8 consecutive titles at any single tournament in ATP history (since 1973). There is no other player who has won more consecutive titles at a single tournament than Nadal has in Monte Carlo when he won 8 consecutive titles from 2005-2012.
  • Nadal is the only player in masters 1000 history to win nine titles at a single masters series tournament and reach ten finals, having achieved this feat at the 2016 Monte Carlo Masters.
  • Nadal is the only player to win all four clay court tournaments in a single calendar season. He won the Monte Carlo masters, Rome masters, Madrid masters and the French Open in 2010. No other player has achieved what has been dubbed as the "Clay Slam" in the open era.

Other significant Records[edit]

Time Span Record Accomplished Player Tied
2004-2016 69 outdoor titles Stands alone
ATP titles won in 19 different countries Roger Federer
2008, 2016 Two Olympic Gold medals in singles and doubles at two different Olympics (Beijing 2008 & Rio 2016) Reginald Doherty
Winner of two Olympic gold medals in singles and doubles in two separate Olympic tournaments in open era Stands alone
Winner of two Olympic gold medals in open era Nicolas Massu

Andy Murray

2005-2016 49 clay court titles Guillermo Vilas
17 ATP 500 Series titles Roger Federer
Outright holder of most titles won at a single Major, Masters 1000 and 500 series tournament - (9) Stands alone
27 titles won from three tournaments (9 each at Barcelona, Monte Carlo, & French Open) Stands alone
2010 5 consecutive "Big Titles" won in a single season (Monte Carlo, Madrid, Rome, French Open , & Wimbledon) Stands alone
2005-2007 Longest single surface win streak (Clay courts - 81) Stands alone
2013 Won 35+ matches on clay courts and hard courts in single calendar season Stands alone
2004-2013 19 match wins against world No. 1 players[h] Boris Becker
2002-2016 91.48% (365-34) clay court match winning percentage Stands alone
84.43% (721-133) outdoor court match winning percentage Stands alone
2005-2013 7+ titles at four tournaments Roger Federer
2005-2016 9 titles at three tournaments (Roland Garros, Monte Carlo, and Barcelona) Stands alone
2004-2006 16 titles won as a teenager Björn Borg
2005 11 titles won in a single season as a teenager Stands alone
Won 24 consecutive matches as a teenager Stands alone
  • The only player to have lost just one game in an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final (Monte Carlo 2010: 6–0, 6–1).
  • The player had the leading match winning percentage in ATP Masters Tournaments since 1990-2015
  • The fastest to win ATP Masters Titles (since winning the first title):
    5 titles: 8 tournaments/1 years: Monte Carlo 2005 – Monte Carlo 2006
    10 titles: 24 tournaments/3 years: Monte Carlo 2005 – Monte Carlo 2008
    15 titles: 34 tournaments/4 years: Monte Carlo 2005 – Rome 2009
    20 titles: 58 tournaments/7 years: Monte Carlo 2005 – Monte Carlo 2012
    25 titles: 65 tournaments/8 years: Monte Carlo 2005 – Montreal 2013

Miscellaneous records[edit]

  • Nadal joins Australian legend Rod Laver as the only left-handers to win all four Grand Slams.
  • Winner of 28 consecutive Grand Slam sets in the year 2010 and 24 in 2008.
  • Fourth player to win the same slam (French Open) 4 consecutive times after Borg (FO), Sampras (Wim) and Federer (Wim, USO), during open era.
  • Nadal has a 49-8 record in clay court tournament finals and an 89–2 record in best-of-five-set matches on clay.Overall Nadal is 363–34 (91.44%) in his career on clay, the best win percentage on clay in the Open Era. The quickest male player (losing fewest matches) in the Open Era to reach 200 clay-court wins (200–16). Vilas leads the all time clay court career win list: 632–162.
  • Most consecutive weeks as World Number 2 than any player in the history of the computer rankings maintained by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP): 160 weeks.
  • Most weeks at No.2: 248 weeks (as of September 30, 2013).
  • Most years ended at No. 2: 5 years (as of end 2011)
  • Quickest player to reach 400 wins by playing less than 500 matches (401–91).
  • Nadal (9–0), Borg (6–0) and Gustavo Kuerten (3–0) are the only players in the Open Era to never lose a French Open final while appearing in at least 3 finals.
  • Nadal has denied an opponent to win a non-calendar Grand Slam a record four times. He defeated Federer in the finals on the 2006 and 2007 French Open and Djokovic in the finals on the 2012 French Open. Nadal himself was denied the possibility of holding the 4 Major Tites at the 2011 Australian Open, when he lost in the quarter-finals to David Ferrer.[4]

Winning streaks[edit]

  • Torneo Godó (Barcelona Open): Holds the record for the most consecutive wins – 5 (2005–2009) and most title wins – 8 (2005–2009, 2011–2013).
  • Longest match winning streak combined on clay, grass and hard (32 matches), also most consecutive tournaments (5) won on same three surfaces (2008 Hamburg-Toronto).
  • Longest single-surface winning streak in the Open Era: 81 matches on Clay Courts (11 April 2005 – 20 May 2007).

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ The final took 5 hours, 53 minutes to complete.[1][2]

References[edit]