Rafael Nadal cracked the top 10 in April 2005 at the age of 18. 16 years later, the 20-time oldest champion remains one of the best players in the world and celebrates his 800th week in a row in the top 10 on Monday! Last November, Nadal prevailed over Jimmy Connors when he got the 790.
Confirmed in the top 10 week in a row, and has advanced even further to reach the number that will be hard to beat in the future. Nadal is currently in Adelaide, hugging a two-week quarantine and preparing for his first official duties of the season at the ATP Cup and the Australian Open next month.
16-year-old Nadal started the 2003 season and was just outside the top 200. He played tennis at a high level to continue the meteoric progress in the ATP rankings. After 19 Challenger triumphs (title in Barletta and three finals) and the appearance in the third round in Monte Carlo, Rafa cracked the top 100 in April and remained on a stable course in the following months to stay in the top 50 to be located.
Despite a serious injury that halted his progress in spring 2004, Nadal won the first ATP title in Sopot in August and helped Spain claim the Davis Cup title at the end of the season. This was Nadal’s first great season, competing in the fourth round of the Australian Open before conquering Costa do Sauipe and Acapulco on beloved sand.
Nadal is the first player with 800 consecutive weeks in the top 10
The best came for an extraordinary teenager who was two points short of winning the Miami crown against Roger Federer and a few weeks later won the first Masters 1000 trophy in Monte Carlo.
Hungry for more, Rafa went to Barcelona without a break and beat Juan Carlos Ferrero in the best of five final to claim another title and another 300 points that put him in the top 10 for the first time!
At the age of 18 and ten months, Rafa became the eighth youngest player in this group since the beginning of the ATP rankings in 1973, after Aaron Krickstein, Michael Chang, Boris Becker, Björn Borg, Mats Wilander, Andre Agassi and Andrei Medvedev.
Nadal, who reached the top 10 on April 25, 2005, has never left the group, counting one great or at least reliable season after another to outperform Pete Sampras, Ivan Lendl, Roger Federer and Jimmy Connors and within 800 consecutive ones Weeks from the top 10
In his darkest seasons in 2015 and 2016, Rafa had to deal with injuries, stay away from the major titles and barely stay in the elite group to continue his streak. Rafa returned to his prime in 2017 and has been in the top two since then. He reached Federer with 20 major crowns and looked strong ahead of the new season.
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