Tennis News: Rafael Nadal sets a major ranking record
Rafael Nadal achieved another milestone by heading into his record 900th consecutive week in the Top 10. He broke into the higher tennis ranks as an 18-year-old on April 25, 2005.
Image credit: pia.images.co.uk Rafael Nadal sets new ranking recordSince then, he has not left the top 10 and now, as a 36-year-old, is world number two.
He broke Jimmy Connors' record of 789 in 2020.
Martina Navratilova is the only tennis player to have ever spent more consecutive weeks in the Top 10 of the WTA or ATP rankings than Nadal.
She stayed in the top 10 for 1,000 weeks.
Nadal's record does not include the 22 weeks when ATP rankings were frozen due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Nadal became the only tennis player to win different Grand Slams over three decades.
He bagged six titles in the 2000s, 13 victories in the 2010s, and three in the 2020s.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">💥 900 STRAIGHT WEEKS IN THE TOP 10! 💥 <br><br>🇪🇸 <a href="https://twitter.com/RafaelNadal?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RafaelNadal</a> first broke into the Top 10 as an 18-year-old on April 25th, 2005, and this week a 36-year-old Rafa is spending his 900th consecutive week in the elite. 💪<br><br>It's *BY FAR* the longest Top 10 streak in ATP rankings history.</p>— TENNIS (@Tennis) <a href="https://twitter.com/Tennis/status/1604703503124930560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 19, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Out of the Spaniard's 900 weeks in the Top 10, he spent two-thirds of it in the top two (591 weeks). Here is a list of ATP players with the most consecutive weeks in the top 10 rankings.
Rafael Nadal (2005-) - 900 weeks
Jimmy Connors (1973-1988) - 789 weeks
Roger Federer (2002-2016) - 742 weeks
Ivan Lendl (1980-1992) - 619 weeks
Pete Sampras (1990-2001) - 565 weeks
Which ATP could players have a critical season in 2023?
Stefanos Tsitsipas
The 24-year-old icon has won only one Grand Slam major despite being a mainstay in the top 10 ATP rankings. He was runner-up to Novak Djokovic in the 2021 French Open and has appeared in five significant semi-finals, including the first time in 2019.
After his semi-final loss at the 2022 Australian Open, Tsitsipas has yet to cross the fourth round at a major and crashed out of the first round of the US Open.
Alexander Zverev
During his semi-final encounter against Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros 2022, Zverev walked out of the court with an ankle injury. He underwent surgery and missed the remainder of the season.
Zverev is known for his first serve and remarkable two-hander. The 25-year-old has never won a Grand Slam title and is challenged by a group of rising stars swiftly catching up. The following season could be do-or-die for Zverev.
Daniil Medvedev
Daniil Medvedev's rise happened not too long ago, and he quickly became the Next Gen player expected to succeed the Big three. But Medvedev squandered a two-set lead in the Australian Open final, underwent hernia surgery, was exempted from competing at Wimbledon and lost to Nick Kyrgios in the US Open.
He will head into 2023 as world number seven, but his chances of winning look slim now that youngsters like Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune are in the picture.
The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and his newfound parenthood status are assumed to have caused his downfall. After the Australian Open, he didn't win a Grand Slam final or Masters 1000 final.
After his post-surgery comeback, he won the Vienna (ATP 500) and Los Cabos (250) but concluded the season on a four-match losing streak. So he needs to tread far in Melbourne, where most of his ranking points are stored.