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WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 04: Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates a shot during a match against Jack Sock of the United States on Day 5 during the Citi Open at Rock Creek Tennis Center on August 4, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
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WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 04: Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates a shot during a match against Jack Sock of the United States on Day 5 during the Citi Open at Rock Creek Tennis Center on August 4, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
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WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 04: Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates a shot during a match against Jack Sock of the United States on Day 5 during the Citi Open at Rock Creek Tennis Center on August 4, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
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WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 04: Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates a shot during a match against Jack Sock of the United States on Day 5 during the Citi Open at Rock Creek Tennis Center on August 4, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
Despite having called off his 2021 season two months ago, Rafael Nadal will still end the year in the Top-10 ATP rankings. Nadal announced an end to his 2021 season because of a chronic foot injury, which resurfaced during the semifinals of this year’s French Open.
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Although he returned to compete at the 2021 Citi Open, Nadal continued to experience pain in his left foot. Ultimately, he declared a premature end of his season ahead of the US Open.
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WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 05: Rafael Nadal of Spain returns a shot during a match against Lloyd Harris of South Africa on Day 6 during the Citi Open at Rock Creek Tennis Center on August 5, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
Rafael Nadal to stay within Top-1o rankings
However, an analysis by CroniSport Tenis shows Nadal will nevertheless finish inside the Top-10 rankings this season. Currently, the Spaniard is ranked World No.5 with 5,635 ATP ranking points.
As per the study, Nadal will lose points since he won’t be competing at the upcoming Paris Masters (360 points) and the Nitto ATP Finals (400 points). Therefore, Nadal stands to lose 760 points, which will make him end the season at 4,875 rankings points.
Since no one who does not play the ATP Finals will be able to overtake Nadal in the rankings, so only Matteo Berrettini, and the two who qualify between Casper Ruud, Hubert Hurkacz, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Jannik Sinner, Cameron Norrie, and Aslan Karatsev would have options.
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WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 05: Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates a shot during a match against Lloyd Harris of South Africa on Day 6 during the Citi Open at Rock Creek Tennis Center on August 5, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
According to the calculation, Nadal can only be overtaken by a maximum of three players by the end of the season. Hence, the 20-time Grand Slam champion would finish the season inside the Top-10 ATP rankings for the 17th consecutive year, which is the most number of seasons a player has finished inside the Top-10, let alone successively.
If Nadal ends up within the Top-8, which is a high possibility, it will make a fundamental difference to his draw before entering the 2022 Australian Open.
The 35-year-old underwent treatment in his left foot last month, which forced him to be on crutches for a few weeks. However, Nadal is back to training in full swing and is aiming to compete at the Abu Dhabi Open in January next year.
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