Rafael Nadal has won 92 ATP titles and with this he is one of the most successful players in tennis. The specialty of Nadal’s 92 titles is that he has won 90 of them on the outdoor court. The French Open is his 90th title on the open court while he has won two titles on the indoor court. These include the title victories of Madrid 2005 and Sao Paulo 2013.
Similarly, Rafa is the most dominant outdoor player in the Open era, 13 titles ahead of his nearest rival, Roger Federer. Federer has got 77 title wins. Nadal’s first ATP crown came in Sopot 2004 and he added 11 more to the list the following season. Ten of them were won on outdoor courts.
His dominance in the clay court is like an open book. With some favorite hard court events and four ATP titles on grass, Rafa achieved the milestone and became the first player to crown 90 ATP outdoors. The Spaniard did not play tennis at all in the latter half of last year due to a leg injury, but the legend made a great comeback in 2022 after recovering from the injury.
Rafa is leading 30-3 this season so far and has worn the crown on his head in four of the five finals. Australian Open and French Open are on this year’s list of winning events and they have achieved such a feat for the first time. Rafa returned at the start of the season in Melbourne. He may not have appeared at his best here but this tournament win helped him regain his confidence.
The Spaniard well used the confidence boost at the Australian Open. Kept his leg under control and made an incredible comeback in the title match against Daniil Medvedev. Rafa made a spectacular comeback from the trail and won in five hours and 24 minutes.
Nadal won the Acapulco title in February and reached the final at Indian Wells. Struggling with a broken rib, Rafa Taylor lost in straight sets to Fritz and took a break until Madrid. The King of Clay did not do his best in the Spanish capital and had to fight hard against Denis Shapovalov in Rome.
People thought the Spanish players were almost on their way to retirement and no one could tell if they would be able to do anything in Paris. But Rafa took his doctor to Paris and injected him to relieve leg pain. This helped him perform at a high level and win the 14th French Open crown from 18 trips to Paris.
The French Open is Nadal’s 90th ATP outdoor title and if anyone wants to surpass his record in the future, he will have to put up an incredible performance.