Palmares of Rafa Nadal

Considered one of the best tennis players in the world and the most successful Spaniard in this sport, Rafa Nadal has been at the highest level in the ATP rankings for many years. Something that has earned him an enviable record and that is not within the reach of many players.

Just as Calamaro sang that Maradona was a man attached to a ball, if we talk about Rafa Nadal we could say the same thing, although in this case it would be a tennis ball. In fact, there are few players in this sport, active or retired, who at Rafa Nadal’s age have a record as extremely bulky as the one Rafa has achieved. Something that makes him one of the tennis players with the most titles on the international tennis circuit, being at the time of writing this article in fourth position in the historical classification and having already surpassed masters such as McEnroe, Sampras or Bjorn Borg.

As is logical among Nadal’s trophies, there is a bit of everything, with victories both in minor tournaments and in the various Grand Slams that he has played. All this without forgetting his two Olympic medals, both gold, or his record in the Davis Cup, in which his presence in the Spanish team was some of the team’s best years in the competition. An extensive list that we will try to summarize in this article.

The first steps

Rafael Nadal’s debut on the ATP professional circuit took place in 2002, at the young age of 15 years and 330 days. In addition, he did it with victory, so he became the youngest player to win a match on the tour. The following year, in Monte Carlo, he would beat Karol Kucera and Albert Costa in the first two rounds, being his first victory against a top 10. Something that would serve him to be the youngest player to reach the top 100 of the ATP.

We would still have to wait a bit until Nadal won his first Master Series. It would be in Monte Carlo where he defeated Guillermo Coria, who also won the final of the Master Series in Rome. But the most surprising thing about this 2005 was the beginning of the idyll between Rafael Nadal and Roland Garros. In this year he gets his first victory on the tracks of Paris, defeating Mariano Puerta in the final. A season to frame where this newcomer to the circuit began to show what he was capable of.

Grand Slam titles

We now break down the titles that Rafael Nadal has managed to win in his career, based on the different categories of the international circuit. Starting with the Grand Slams, Nadal currently has a total of 20 titles, as well as eight more disputed finals. Among his records, is being the only one who has won at least one of these major tournaments for ten years in a row.

Of these triumphs, the most frequent are in the Roland Garros tournament, where the man from Manaco has 13 titles. That’s why they call him the king of clay. However, Nadal has also been able to win in the other three wickets. Thus, he adds two victories at the Wimbledon Tennis Open, one at the Australian Open, while Rafael Nadal’s successes at the US Open add another 4 more wins. A list of winners that very few tennis players have been able to reach.

Masters 1000

As for the participation of Rafael Nadal in Masters 1000, the truth is that there is also much to tell. We are talking about no less than 35 different titles, since that first victory in Monte Carlo in 2005. This leads this athlete to be the second player with the most titles in this type of tournament, occupying the same position in terms of the number of finals. plays, 51 in total. 

Given that there are many tournaments that make up this circuit, it is surprising that Nadal has played finals in each and every one of them, including Hamburg. The latter is not part of this circuit, but Nadal had time both to win it in 2008 and to be a finalist in 2007.

Rest of Master tournaments

Although his jump to the tennis elite came soon, Nadal also had the opportunity to participate and win in different “minor” tournaments of the World Tour 500 and the World Tour 250. Specifically, he has won 21 titles within this first circuit, being finalist in 6 other championships, while in the World Tour 250 he has won 9 tournaments and has been a finalist in 5. A complete list that demonstrates the versatility and precocity of this racket genius.

Davis cup

There is no doubt that the coincidence of the presence of Rafa Nadal with one of the best generations of Spanish tennis players has been a great benefit for Spain in terms of success in the Davis Cup. However, what is most surprising about this tournament is that on the five occasions in which the national team has won the title, the Mallorcan was featured as a player on all of them.

The best of all is that, thanks to the early debut of the player from Manacor, between the first of these victories, in 2004, and the last one, in 2019, no less than 15 years have passed. Something that shows the strength of this player.

Olympic Games

As the last outstanding section of Nadal’s record, we cannot forget his participation in the Olympic Games. This competition is also part of this player’s successes, thanks to his individual gold medal in 2008, at the Beijing Olympics, and his gold medal in doubles, teaming up with Marc Lopez at the Rio 2016 games. of gold, never better said, in the record of a player of such capacity that, surely, he will continue adding successes in the coming years.