Rafael Nadal’s Grand Slam record has been tied and now he is perilously close to the end of staggering streak.
At the age of just 18 the iconic tennis player entered the world’s top 10 for the very first time on April 25th 2005 and almost 18 years later, despite the plethora of injuries, he is still there. Nadal has held a spot in the top 10 for
908 consecutive weeks, 120 weeks more than the second ranked Jimmy Connors at 788 with Roger Federer in third at 734 weeks. Only Martina Navratilova’s 1000 weeks in the WTA top 10 is ahead of the 22-time Grand Slam champion.
However, one of the more underrated streaks in the history of tennis is in danger of coming to an end by the time the North American hard-court swing has concluded. Less than 1000 points currently separates Nadal, currently ranked six in the world, from 10th place Hubert Hurkacz. As the sporting legend will not defend his crown at the Acapulco Open later this month, given the winner is awarded 500 ranking points, he will now lose that total number of points.
It is unlikely this alone would knock Nadal out of the elite group, but the 36-year-old has points to defend at Indian Wells having reached last year’s final. If the Mallorca native, currently nursing a hip injury, is unable to
compete in the Californian desert next month, another 600 points will disappear from his tally, which would likely see him fall out of the top 10 for the first time.