The ATP Performance Zone examines the Spaniard’s hard-court improvement.
World No. 2 Rafael Nadal has long been lauded for his clay success. But not only has the Spaniard compiled one of the best hard-court records in history; the lefty is performing significantly better than his career average.
According to the ATP Performance Zone, Nadal leads the ATP Tour over the past 52 weeks with a 90.5 winning percentage on hard courts. That puts him well ahead of World No. 1 Novak Djokovic (86%), Roger Federer (81.1%), Daniil Medvedev (75.5%) and Andrey Rublev (75.4%).
Hard-Court Winning Percentage — Past 52 Weeks
Nadal has won 38 of his 42 hard-court matches over the past year. Not only is he winning at a high rate, but he’s doing so against highly-ranked players. The 33-year-old has earned 11 of those 38 victories against Top 20 opponents, with seven of those triumphs coming in straight sets. The lowest-ranked opponent Nadal has lost to on hard courts since the start of the 2019 BNP Paribas Open was then-World No. 11 David Goffin at this year’s ATP Cup.
The Mallorcan’s efforts on the surface might always be compared to his spectacular efforts on clay, on which he has a career winning percentage of 91.8 per cent, but his career numbers stack up well in the history books. Nadal currently ranks 11th in career winning percentage on hard courts at 78.1 per cent, ahead of former World No. 1s Boris Becker, Bjorn Borg, Jim Courier, Mats Wilander and more.
Career Winning Percentage On Hard Courts (Active Players)
The only active players whom Nadal trails in the category are the other members of the Big Four: Djokovic, Federer and Andy Murray. The Spaniard is also eight-hundredths of a percentage point away from passing Murray and cracking the Top 10.
Perhaps what is most impressive is how much Nadal has improved on hard courts. His performance over the past 52 weeks is more than 12 percentage points better than his career average. Last year he triumphed at the Coupe Rogers, an ATP Masters 1000 event held in Montreal, and the US Open. Last month, he was victorious at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC, an ATP 500 in Acapulco.
In every season starting in 2017, Nadal has won more than 80 per cent of his hard-court matches per year. He had not eclipsed that mark in the three seasons before that. From 2017 until today, Nadal’s hard-court winning percentage is 84.8 per cent.
Did You Know?
According to the ATP Performance Zone, Nadal owns the highest career winning percentage on record at 83.2 per cent. He is followed by Djokovic at 83 per cent.
RAFAEL NADAL “PUTS PARENTS’ MINDS AT REST” AFTER STUDENTS STUCK AT ACADEMY
With the coronavirus pandemic closing numerous borders, the 19-time major champion has ensured safety and care come first with those stranded at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca.
As the coronavirus pandemic shows no sign of slowing down, countries have closed their borders in an effort to curtail the spread of the virus. This has forced airlines and other transportation to stand down, leaving people stranded without any means to return to their respective countries.
In an open letter earlier this week, Rafael Nadal detailed the measures the Rafa Nadal Academy by Moviestar has taken in Mallorca to care for its personnel and international students, which hail from 42 different nations, by upholding its responsibility to put safety first.
“I would like to take this opportunity to put the parents’ minds at rest and to tell you all that your children are being very well looked after by a great team that is giving their all every single minute to take care of their health,” the Spaniard said. “I know you want to be with your children and we hope that moment will arrive soon.”
Nadal stated that the academy has since closed access to the public to make “avoid any infection from the outside,” after consulting with the Superior Sports Council and the Balearic Islands’ Regional Ministry of Health to uphold the current law.
“The outcome of these conversations has allowed some coaching and support staff, as well as cleaning personnel, who have all volunteered, to confine themselves within the facilities in order to be able to look after these players who have to stay at the Academy during this time.”
Meanwhile, the ATP, WTA and ITF put out a joint statement Wednesday to announce that the tours will now be suspended through June 7. According to CNN, there are over 218,000 cases of coronavirus worldwide as of Thursday.
