Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal, 36, dropped out of the Top 5, and we will hardly see him on the court again before the Monte Carlo Masters 1000. The big target for him is obviously Roland Garros, where he will go hunting for his 15th stamp.
It has been made official that Nadal will not participate in either the ATP 250 in Doha (February 20-25) or the ATP 500 in Dubai (February 27-March 4). Rafa will lose the 500 points derived from the title won last year in Acapulco and will fall further down the standings.
The Spaniard currently occupies the sixth position with 3815 points, 100 more than Felix Auger-Aliassime. Taylor Fritz, world number 8, has 3410, followed by Holger Rune and Hubert Hurkacz. Nadal’s tenure in the Top 10 is also undermined by Cameron Norrie and Daniil Medvedev, who have 2,760 and 2,750 points respectively.
It is not yet clear if the Spaniard will participate in the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells and Miami. In California, Rafa defends last year’s final, when he lost to Taylor Fritz and suffered a broken rib. Nadal had skipped Miami and Monte Carlo in 2022, before giving up early in Madrid and Rome.
Arriving in Paris in physically difficult conditions, Nadal left everyone speechless by conquering his 22nd Major. The former world number 1 was reached by Novak Djokovic at the top of the historic Grand Slam rankings, after the Serb won his tenth Australian Open a few weeks ago.
Gill Gross on Rafael Nadal
A well-known tennis analyst on the circuit for officiating on the Tennis Channel and working with the US Open, Gill Gross recently had fun drawing up categories (or third parties) between the best players on the circuit.
And if his ranking has nothing scandalous at first sight, the American knowingly forgot to mention a certain Rafael Nadal. Here is his explanation… “I think there is a level 1. In level 1 there is Djokovic and Alcaraz. One could say that Djokovic perhaps belongs to a level apart.
Let Alcaraz play tennis before placing it there. Tsitsipas is in tier 2. I think he is alone in tier 2. Zverev is gone, Medvedev is not good at the moment. Let me tell you right now that I don’t know where to put Nadal. I don’t include Nadal in all of this.
He is in a waiting period for me. It does not belong to any category. Tier 3? Lots of players. I think Casper Ruud should be placed there. I think you have to put Felix Auger-Aliassime there. I think Holger Rune needs to be put there.
I think you have to put Jannik Sinner there. Then come Taylor Fritz, Andrey Rublev, Cameron Norrie,” he said on his Youtube channel.
