Look no further: Rafa Nadal is already the most regular and consistent tennis player of all time. This is indicated by the numbers, beyond the impressive successes he has reaped throughout his career after overcoming all adversities, whether they were the fearsome rivals he has had on the other side of the track or because of the constant injuries suffered over 19 seasons as a professional.
Since this November 9, 2020, Nadal has reached a whopping 790 consecutive weeks among the top ten in the ATP rankings, an idyll that began on April 25, 2005 (The total is 811 weeks, but ATP subtracts the 21 corresponding to the ranking freeze due to the pandemic). Since that moment, it has never left the top ten in the rankings. It is an absolute record in the history of tennis, since not even Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Pete Sampras or other great figures of this sport come close to the impressive record of the manacorense (see image). The exception is Jimmy Connors, who led this statistic so far with 789 consecutive weeks in the top-10.
List of players with the highest number of consecutive weeks in the top-10.
Getty Images / ATP Tour
The Spaniard already looks at everyone in the rear-view mirror thanks to his regularity, the one that took him to the top-10 for the first time at 18 years old (months before his first Roland Garros) and that at 34 keeps him at the top, with 20 Grand Slams behind him, 35 Masters 1,000, 5 seasons as number one, 5 Davis Cups and 1 Olympic gold as the most outstanding achievements.
As to total weeks in the top-10 of the ranking, there it is Federer who dominates the statistics, also thanks to his greater number of seasons and matches in the professional elite. The Swiss leads with 921 weeks, followed by Connors (816), Nadal himself (790), Andre Agassi (747) and Ivan Lendl (671). Djokovic is slightly behind at 656 weeks, but it is one of the active players who is in a position to break the records of his predecessors. Of course, Nadal's regularity is unattainable.