Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal's untouchable records
The most impressive statistics from the Spanish historical work
November 20, 2024
Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images
Rafael Nadal has won Roland Garros a record 14 times.
By ATPtour.com/es Staff
To celebrate the end of Rafael Nadal's historic career in this week's Davis Cup Final 8, ATPTour.com is publishing a series of articles honoring the Spaniard. Watch our #RafaSiempre series.
Nadal's first ATP Tour win against Ramon Delgado on the clay of his native Mallorca at the age of 15 was the first step in an illustrious career that spanned more than two decades. The Spaniard has left a number of records that future generations will find very difficult to break.
ATPtour.com takes a look at the most important statistics of the Manacor native's 22-season career.
14 titles in one Grand Slam
Nadal's Roland Garros record is probably the most impressive of his career. After winning his first 'Musketeer's Trophy' on his first appearance in the second major of the season in 2005, he went on to claim a total of 14 titles (2005-08, 2010-14, 2017-2020, 2022) at the Paris clay. The mark puts him four ahead of his nearest competitor in terms of singles Grand Slam titles: Novak Djokovic with 10 Australian Opens.
Dear Rafa,
It has been an honor to watch you progress on our team, where you will leave a lasting mark in such a challenging environment.
We are proud to count you as our grand champion, with your 14 titles as a man. Your legacy will live on forever, in… pic.twitter.com/xJ9P96gRaM
– Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) November 19, 2024
10 or more titles in four different competitions
It was not only at Roland Garros that Nadal built an empire. He also stamped his dominance in other categories, where it became a habit to see him claim this trophy year after year. In the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell he won 12 times, which led the tournament to name its center field after him. At the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, an ATP Masters 1000 event, he won 11 titles, while the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome gave him 10 crowns. The four tournaments accounted for 47 of his total of 92 titles (51%).
The youngest player to win the 'Golden Slam'
Only a select few in the history of tennis can boast of having won all four majors (Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, US Open), and an Olympic gold medal. Nadal topped the Olympic podium in Beijing in 2008, and later joined Andre Agassi as the only players in the men's game to complete the 'Golden Slam' feat by winning the 2010 US Open, aged 24 , three months, and 10 days. Novak Djokovic joined this elite group in 2024 when he won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics.
Rafael Nadal defeats Fernando Gonzalez to win the men's singles gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.” style=”width:100%;” src=”
Photo Credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Many degrees in clay
When Nadal started his career, the record for clay titles was 49. It belonged to the specialist doctor Guillermo Vilas from Argentina. The native of Manacor not only broke that record, he did so by a huge margin, reaching 63. It was 18 years before his first clay crown, in Sopot in 2004, and his last, in Roland Garros in 2022.
10 years in a row winning Grand Slams
Former No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Nadal not only has 22 Grand Slam titles to his name, he has racked up season after season, allowing him to stay very close to the top for a long time. Nadal is the only player to have won at least one major for 10 consecutive years. Between 2005 and 2014 he won the 2009 Australian Open; 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 Roland Garros crown; Wimbledon in 2008 and 2010; and the US Open in 2010 and 2013.
Grand Slam titles at all venues in one year
His ability to compete at the highest level in all areas was evident in 2010, when he won the Grand Slam on clay (Roland Garros), grass (Wimbledon) and hard courts (US Open) in the same year. He was the first to do so since Rod Laver in 1969. In the following years, in 2021, Novak Djokovic also achieved success in the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
Most wins against number 1
Nadal has been able to go toe-to-toe with the likes of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, respectively, regularly beating them when they were ranked No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings. The Spaniard actually holds the record for most wins against the world's best player (23), beating Federer 13 times during his prime and Djokovic 10. The first came against Federer at the Miami ATP Masters 1000 in 2004.
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal ” style=”width:100%;” src=”
Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images
Finishing the Grand Slam twice
Winning all four majors is a privilege only eight men have achieved in the history of the game. Nadal, however, was twice as happy (he won every Grand Slam at least twice). Rod Laver was the first to do this, and Djokovic will do it again.
An outright majority wins in one place
One of Nadal's greatest hits ever came in the first round at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters on April 11, 2005 against Gael Monfils. It ended in the final of the ATP Masters 1000 in Hamburg on 14 May 2007 against Roger Federer. During that time, the Spaniard won every match he played on clay, giving him the record for consecutive wins on a single surface (81).
'Clay Slam'
In 2010, Nadal became the only player to win both Grand Slam and Masters 1000-level clay-court tournaments in the same season. He has collected titles at the Masters 1000 events in Monte-Carlo (his sixth title in the Principality), Rome (fifth) and Madrid (second). He also put the icing on the cake at the clay Grand Slam event in Paris, with his fifth Roland Garros crown.
Unbeatable on clay over five sets
In total, throughout his career, the Balearic Islander played 535 matches on clay, with a record of 484 wins and 51 losses. That equates to a more than 90.5 percent winning record. However, when competing in best-of-five set matches, his success rate was close to perfect. He faced 141 such challenges, with a record of 137-4, a return rate of 97.1%.
Many degrees when you are young
Nadal started the 2005 season at the age of 18 and finished it at the age of 19. As a youngster, he produced the most season of his career and no one, so far, has matched him at such a young age. That year he won eleven titles in Costa do Sauipe, Acapulco, Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome, Roland Garros, Bastad, Stuttgart, Canada, Beijing and Madrid, all in addition to the title he won in Sopot in 2004. Interestingly, the season included his only title on indoor hard courts (Madrid).
Rafael Nadal” style=”100%;” src=”
Photo Credit: Julian Finney/Getty Images
Editor's note: This story has been translated from ATPtour.com/es
