Rafael Nadal retires: The King of Clay's career in numbers

The day tennis fans across the globe had feared was coming for some time has finally arrived, with Rafael Nadal confirming his impending retirement on Thursday.

Nadal had previously suggested 2024 was likely to be his final year on the ATP Tour after struggling with injuries throughout a difficult few years.

The Davis Cup Finals, set for Malaga in November, will now be the final event for one of sport's all-time greats.

Here, we delve into the Opta data to run through the best facts and figures from Nadal's astonishing career.

Mil gracias a todos Many thanks to all Merci beaucoup à tous Grazie mille à tutti 谢谢大家 شكرا لكم جميعا תודה לכולכם Obrigado a todos Vielen Dank euch allen Tack alla Хвала свима Gràcies a tots pic.twitter.com/7yPRs7QrOi

— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) October 10, 2024

The records

Across the ATP and WTA Tours, only Margaret Court, Novak Djokovic (24 each) and Serena Williams (23) have won more singles grand slam titles than Nadal's 22 in tennis history.

An astonishing 14 of those triumphs came at the French Open (more on that event later), which is the most of any player at a single major in history. Djokovic's 10 Australian Open titles are the second-most by anyone at a particular grand slam.

Nadal's first grand slam title came at the 2005 edition of Roland-Garros, while the 2022 season saw him triumph in the French capital and at the Australian Open, speaking to his remarkable longevity.

He is the only player to win at least one major in 15 different calendar years, and between 2005 and 2014, he never ended a season without a grand slam title. No other player in the Open Era has won at least one major in 10 consecutive seasons.

112 - Rafael Nadal is the player with the most matches won in a single Men’s Singles Grand Slam event in the Open Era (112 at the French Open). Adieu. #GraciasRafa #ATP | @atptour pic.twitter.com/kIN5ss8Tjq

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) October 10, 2024

Nadal ended 13 different years in the top two of the ATP World Rankings, more than any other player throughout the Open Era.

He is also the only player in the Open Era to win multiple grand slam crowns both as a teenager and when aged over 30, and the only player since 1990 to win more than five ATP Masters 1000 finals before turning 20 (boasting a 6-1 record) and since turning 30 (8-3).

The rivalries

Nadal's exploits are even more impressive when one considers the competition he faced throughout his career, being a part of tennis' 'Big Three' alongside Djokovic and Roger Federer.

The other members of the 'Big Three' (Djokovic – 37, Federer – 31) are the only players to compete in more men's grand slam finals than Nadal in the Open Era (30).

Djokovic (257) and Federer (224) are also the only men to have won more matches against top-10 opponents than Nadal (186) since the ATP Rankings were first published. Nadal has played 289 matches against such opponents (third-most) and his win ratio of 64.4% is the fourth-best among players with a minimum of 100 such victories.

Nadal and Federer, in particular, enjoyed many titanic tussles through the years, not least the 2008 Wimbledon final, which the Spaniard won 6–4 6–4 6–7 (5–7) 6–7 (8–10) 9–7 in four hours and 48 minutes, a match regarded by some as the greatest of all time.

Gracias Rafa, #RafaSiempre pic.twitter.com/m7NXorFaNx

— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 10, 2024

The duo faced off 40 times before the Swiss great retired in 2022, with Nadal edging their head-to-head 24-16 overall and 14-10 in finals.

Djokovic, meanwhile, is the only player to beat Nadal at all four majors, winning 31 of the pair's 60 all-time meetings.

The King of Clay

While Nadal enjoyed success on all surfaces and at all four majors (plus the Olympic Games), it is Roland-Garros that will be remembered as his tournament.

Nadal's unbelievable 96.6% win rate at the French Open (112 wins from 116 matches) is the best of any player at a grand slam event in men's singles, with only Djokovic (twice), Robin Soderling and Alexander Zverev beating him at the tournament.

Nadal's 112 French Open wins are the most of any man at a single major in the Open Era, while his 14-0 record in Roland-Garros finals is the best recorded by anyone at an event in that span.

His dominance on clay extended beyond Paris, though, with Nadal's total of 63 career clay-court titles are more than anyone else in the Open Era, with Guillermo Vilas second on 49. His win percentage of 90.5% (484-51) on clay is also the best of any player on any individual surface in the Open Era.

At the peak of his powers, Nadal managed an incredible 81 consecutive victories on the surface between 2005 and 2007 – the longest streak on a single surface in the Open Era.

Only three tournaments have been won more than 10 times by the same player in the Open Era – Roland-Garros (14), Barcelona (12) and Monte-Carlo (11), all by Nadal on the clay.

It was perhaps fitting, then, that Nadal's final match at the very top level – at the Paris Olympics in July – saw him soak up the adulation of the Court Philippe-Chatrier crowd following a hard-fought defeat to old rival Djokovic.

Current French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz may be the pretender to Nadal's throne, but the title of 'King of Clay' will surely always be his.