Rafael Nadal’s Historic ATP Ranking Run Ends After Nearly 18 Years

Monday saw two major changes in the ATP world rankings, starting with Carlos Alcaraz taking over the No. 1 spot from Novak Djokovic following the 19-year-old’s title at Indian Wells on Sunday.

The other big change was that Rafael Nadal is out of the Top 10 for the first time in nearly 18 years. He first broke into the Top 10 on April 25, 2005. During those 18 years, Nadal has spent 209 weeks at World No. 1 and broke the record for most men’s Grand Slam singles titles.

Nadal hasn’t played since his second round exit from the Australian Open back in January when he suffered a hip flexor injury. He withdrew from Indian Wells and the Miami Open, but appears to be gearing up for clay season as he’s been seen recently practicing on the court.

Now that Spaniard Alcaraz has taken back his World No. 1 ranking, Djokovic’s record-breaking weeks at the top spot pauses at 380 total weeks in his career. He broke Steffi Graf’s 25-year record in late February. Djokovic did not play in Indian Wells and will not play at the Miami Open due to his COVID-19 vaccination status.

Djokovic and Nadal are now tied for the most Grand Slam men’s singles titles with 22 each after the Serbian won this year’s Australian Open. Djokovic recently mentioned he would love to play the Spaniard in the French Open final in June to battle for the outright record.