Rafael Nadal in danger of astonishing 18-year streak coming to an end

19 February 2023 , 11:49

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Nadal has £129million to his name (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

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.

Having suffered an injury which contributed to his exit last month’s Australian Open at the second round stage, Nadal announced he would be sidelined for approximately six to eight weeks. While it is not impossible that Nadal may recover in time to feature in the States, he would enter the tournament with no competitive matches since January.

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Given his form of late, he may need to regain his match sharpness before one of the biggest tournaments of the year. Therefore it is more likely to expect the Spanish matador back on court for the clay court season en route to the all-important 2023 edition of Roland Garros. Nadal provided an update on his recovery from a reported grade-two injury to his left hip flexor muscle last month.

He took to Twitter to confirm that he has been undergoing medical tests in Barcelona, with further examinations to follow. "Today I have been at the Tecknon Tennis Clinic in Barcelona where they have carried out some tests on me," wrote Nadal. "The Melbourne results are confirmed and the deadlines remain the same. Established the treatments to follow and in three weeks they will perform new tests to see the evolution."

The Spaniard entered the top 10 for the first time in April 2005 and has been there ever since

At the Australian Open, Nadal vowed to return to the sport, after growing frustrated with retirement questions throughout the lead up to the tournament.

“I went through this process (recovering from injury) too many times in my career, and I am ready to keep doing, I think, but that’s not easy, without a doubt,” Nadal said at Melbourne Park.

“In the end, I can’t complain about my life at all. Just in terms of sports and in terms of injuries and tough moments, that’s another one. I just can’t say that I am not destroyed mentally at this time, because I will be lying.”

Liam Llewellyn