Rafael Nadal kicks off record 900th consecutive week in Top 10 of ATP rankings

Rafael Nadal’s legendary longevity hits yet another milestone today, as he kicks off his record 900th straight week in the Top 10.

Since first breaking into the Top 10 as an 18-year-old on April 25th, 2005, Nadal has never, ever left the elite, not even for a second—and now, at age 36, he’s still in there, currently sitting at No. 2.

He surpassed Jimmy Connors’ previous record of 789 in 2020.

MOST CONSECUTIVE WEEKS IN TOP 10 IN ATP RANKINGS HISTORY:

• 900: Rafael Nadal [2005 to present]
• 789: Jimmy Connors [1973 to 1988]
• 742: Roger Federer [2002 to 2016]
• 619: Ivan Lendl [1980 to 1992]
• 565: Pete Sampras [1990 to 2001]

Nadal’s streak does not include the 22 weeks the ATP rankings were frozen in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Only one woman has spent more consecutive weeks in the Top 10 of the WTA rankings than Nadal has in the Top 10 of the ATP rankings—Martina Navratilova with a clean 1,000.

Even more impressive: of Nadal’s 900 weeks in the Top 10, almost two thirds of it has been spent in the Top 2 (591 weeks, or 65.7%).

NADAL’S 900 TOP 10 WEEKS, BROKEN DOWN BY RANKING:

• 209 weeks at No. 1 [23.2%]
• 382 weeks at No. 2 [42.4%]
• 90 weeks at No. 3 [10.0%]
• 70 weeks at No. 4 [7.8%]
• 81 weeks at No. 5 [9.0%]
• 26 weeks at No. 6 [2.9%]
• 15 weeks at No. 7 [1.7%]
• 7 weeks at No. 8 [0.8%]
• 12 weeks at No. 9 [1.3%]
• 8 weeks at No. 10 [0.9%]

And finally...

THINGS NADAL'S TOP 10 STREAK IS OLDER THAN:
~ How I Met Your Mother (premiered in September 2005)
~ Criminal Minds (premiered in September 2005)
~ Wedding Crashers (released in July 2005)
~ Honey Boo Boo (born in August 2005)
~ Both Fruhvirtova sisters (No. 78-ranked Linda was born on May 1st, 2005, six days after Nadal’s streak began, and No. 130-ranked Brenda was born in 2007)
~ Guitar Hero (released in November 2005)

… and the first ever YouTube video, “Me At The Zoo”, was uploaded only two days before Nadal’s streak began, on April 23rd, 2005.