After the retirement of Roger Federer, another era in men’s tennis is coming to an end. On March 20, at the end of the Indian Wells Masters, Spaniard Rafael Nadal is eliminated from the world top 10 for the first time in… 18 years.
These 18 consecutive years in the top 10 in the world are an unprecedented mark in men’s tennis. Nadal’s 912 weeks in the top flight puts him well ahead of American Jimmy Connors, who was there for 789 weeks between 1973 and 1988.
In fact, in April 2005, when the man with 21 major titles entered the top 10 there, the iPod nano wasn’t even out yet.
Only Navratilova is ahead of him
Federer stayed in the top 10 for 742 consecutive weeks between 2002 and 2016. And all genders combined, only one athlete ranks ahead of Nadal in this prestigious longevity list: American Martina Navratilova, ranked in the top 10 players for … 1000 straight weeks, reports the Tennis.com page.
Nadal’s exceptional weaponry did not go unnoticed. His biggest rival who is still active, the Serbian Novak Djokovic, underlined his great consistency after his defeat in the semifinals in Dubai, despite a career that was often slowed down by serious injuries.
“I have total respect for him,” said the world No. 1, who spent 555 consecutive weeks in the top 10 between 2007 and 2017. Being in the top 10 at almost 20 years old is just breathtaking. »
“That speaks to the quality of his tennis and its consistency throughout the year. He plays well on all surfaces,” added Djoko.
An absence that hurts
Injuring his leg in his Australian Open second round loss to American Mackenzie MacDonald in January, ‘Rafa’ still doesn’t know when he will be able to resume competition.
The Spaniard, currently eighth in the world rankings, falls back to ninth on Monday. He’s guaranteed to skip Indian Wells, which starts next week, and the Miami Masters at the end of the month.
It is this first pack that will hurt his ranking the most. A year ago, “Rafa”, who was still on fire at the start of the season, was aiming for his fourth consecutive title in California. Nadal had reached the final where he was beaten by American Taylor Fritz.
On March 20, the 36-year-old is therefore guaranteed to lose the 600 points linked to this final and find himself ranked 11th in the world at best.