Rafa has been a top 10'er for as long as Murray's career

[pj80]

Facts about things that happened in tennis before Nadal made his top-10 debut:
* Roger Federer was on four Grand Slams in April 2005 and, of course, he went on to win another 16 majors with all of them coming while Nadal was in the top 10.

* Serena Williams was a seven-time Grand Slam winner as she notched up No 7 at the Australian Open at the start of 2005. Williams finished her career with 23 majors.

* Novak Djokovic had only just made maiden Grand Slam appearance as he qualified for the 2005 Australian Open, but lost to eventual champion Marat Safin in the first round. Both Djokovic and Nadal have gone on to win 22 majors.

* Andy Murray made his professional debut in Barcelona a week before Nadal entered the top 10 at No 7.

* Andre Agassi was still playing competitively and was still in the top 10. The American great eventually retired after the 2006 US Open.

* Carlos Alcaraz was only two years old the last time Nadal was not in the top 10 as the rising star was born in May 2003. If this doesn’t make you feel old, then nothing will.

Nadal, Djokovic, Murray, Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev have all gone on be world No 1 since April 2005.

Rafael Nadal's 18-year streak to end – Incredible facts on the last time he was out of the top 10

Rafael Nadal's withdrawal from the Indian Wells Open means he is set to drop out of the top 10 of the ATP Rankings for the first time since 2005.

www.tennis365.com

 

[Mustard]

The internet was still the Wild West of free speech back then. Twitter hadn't even been invented yet.

 

[Djokodalerer31]

Cool cool props to him, but Being world number 1 -> being top-10 player...just sayin'

 

[InsuranceMan]

Cool cool props to him, but Being world number 1 -> being top-10 player...just sayin'

Yes thanks very much for the on topic and relevant dig at Nadal. How could we have ever figured out that being Number 1 is better than being Top 10 without you

 

[tennislove00]

Everything has to come to an end. Honestly i wasn't watching tennis when he entered top10 (i was smol back then) but i remember Wimbledon finals from 07/08. Honestly it feels like different worlds for me, now and then, and Rafa Nadal was ranked top10 no matter what.

 

[L4S10s]

You got mail!

 

[-snake-]

The internet was still the Wild West of free speech back then. Twitter hadn't even been invented yet.

We did have freedom in those days.

 

[Mainad]

Seems like the beginning of the end. Once Roger fell out of the top #10 he never came back.

 

[TripleATeam]

Everything has to come to an end. Honestly i wasn't watching tennis when he entered top10 (i was smol back then) but i remember Wimbledon finals from 07/08. Honestly it feels like different worlds for me, now and then, and Rafa Nadal was ranked top10 no matter what.

I get you, I wasn't even born back then. Wildly different times.

 

[Third Serve]

That is a crazy statistic

 

[Razer]

I get you, I wasn't even born back then. Wildly different times.

How old are you? Are you born after 2005?

 

[TripleATeam]

How old are you? Are you born after 2005?

I'm 12, started watching back in 2016 and then this old Federer guy came out of nowhere. Whoo boy, the early days of tennis were great.

 

[Razer]

I'm 12, started watching back in 2016 and then this old Federer guy came out of nowhere. Whoo boy, the early days of tennis were great.

lol, no way you are 12. I have seen your posts in the past, you are excellent at maths, around university level. No way is a 12 year old posting what you post with clarity.

 

[Third Serve]

lol, no way you are 12. I have seen your posts in the past, you are excellent at maths, around university level. No way is a 12 year old posting what you post with clarity.

he's a Novak fan, by definition he can't have been born any earlier than 2011

 

[TheNachoMan]

he's a Novak fan, by definition he can't have been born any earlier than 2011

The Pre Skyrim era. LOL.

 

[Martin J]

The internet was still the Wild West of free speech back then. Twitter hadn't even been invented yet.

Good old times.

 

[The_Order]

The Pre Skyrim era. LOL.

Heck, Oblivion wasn't even out yet...

 

[TripleATeam]

lol, no way you are 12. I have seen your posts in the past, you are excellent at maths, around university level. No way is a 12 year old posting what you post with clarity.

he's a Novak fan, by definition he can't have been born any earlier than 2011

It's sad, I was 24 years old and an accomplished accountant, then I watched the ball drop in Times Square in 2010, and then... an uncomfortable few years later I joined this site once I learned to read again.

 

[MichaelNadal]

I was 19 and hadn't moved out yet or gotten my license. It's insane.

 

[pj80]

The internet was still the Wild West of free speech back then. Twitter hadn't even been invented yet.

I was 19 and hadn't moved out yet or gotten my license. It's insane.

Rafa was 18 and 10 months...the start of his streak was almost 18 years ago...he was months away from spending half of his life in the top 10

 

[nolefam_2024]

Seems like the beginning of the end. Once Roger fell out of the top #10 he never came back.

I thought Roger became number 1 after falling out of top 10.

 

[Mustard]

Seems like the beginning of the end. Once Roger fell out of the top #10 he never came back.

Incorrect. Federer fell out of the top 10 on 7 November 2016, falling from number 9 to number 16, and thus exiting the top 10 for the first time since October 2002. Federer got back into the top 10 on 30 January 2017, after his 2017 Australian Open win, going from number 17 to number 10. Federer fell out of the top 10 for the last time on 18 October 2021, by which time his last career singles match was over 3 months in the past.

In his bad year of 2013, Federer started the year at number 2, went as low as number 7, but finished the year at number 6.

Nadal in June-August 2015 went as low as number 10 and came close to going out of the top 10, but for a few things saving it. Had Tsonga beaten Wawrinka in the 2015 French Open semi final (after Nadal had lost to Djokovic in the quarter final), Nadal would have fallen out of the top 10, but Wawrinka beat Tsonga and Djokovic to win the tournament. Then Nadal won the new grass tournament at Stuttgart in bizarre fashion, which helped. By late July, when Nadal was still at number 10 and clinging on, Nadal won 2015 Hamburg, which got him up to number 9. Nadal was also at number 9 at the time of the 2017 Australian Open, still in the top 10, and hadn't left it. Nadal had spent large parts of 2016 at number 4 or 5 despite his inconsistent form, as his strangely consistent late 2015 indoor form helped.

Djokovic left the top 10 on 6 November 2017, falling from number 7 to number 12, which was the first time that Djokovic had left the top 10 since March 2007. Djokovic fell as low as number 22, and got back into the top 10 on 16 July 2018, after his 2018 Wimbledon win, going from number 21 to number 10.

 

[Mainad]

I thought Roger became number 1 after falling out of top 10.

Incorrect. Federer fell out of the top 10 on 7 November 2016, falling from number 9 to number 16, and thus exiting the top 10 for the first time since October 2002. Federer got back into the top 10 on 30 January 2017, after his 2017 Australian Open win, going from number 17 to number 10. Federer fell out of the top 10 for the last time on 18 October 2021, by which time his last career singles match was over 3 months in the past.

Stand corrected. Didn't recall that he fell out and came back again. Thanks.

Rafa is going to have to get fit for the clay in order to do the same.

 

[BauerAlmeida]

One of the most impressive statistics in history.

 

[pj80]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1631527516144844800