See main article: Rafael Nadal.
| Fullname: | Rafael Nadal Parera |
| Singlestitles: | 2 |
| Currentsinglesranking: | No. 6 |
| Australianopenresult: | QF |
| Frenchopenresult: | SF |
| Wimbledonresult: | A |
| Usopenresult: | A |
| Currentdoublesranking: | No. 511 |
| Previous Season: | 2020 |
| Next Season: | 2022 |
The 2021 Rafael Nadal tennis season officially began on 9 February 2021, with the start of the Australian Open.
Rafael Nadal was scheduled to begin his season at the ATP Cup. However, despite being on the Spanish team, he did not play any matches due to minor back issues.[1] [2]
See also: 2021 Australian Open – Men's Singles. At the 2021 Australian Open, Nadal lost in the quarterfinals to Stefanos Tsitsipas, despite being two sets to love up. This marked only the second time Nadal has lost a grand slam match after being two sets up.[3] It was overall the third time he lost from 2 sets up, the others happened at the US Open 2015 to Fabio Fognini, and Miami 2005 to Roger Federer in the final when Masters finals were best of 5.
Indian Wells Masters was scheduled to take place in March 2021 but was postponed due to coronavirus concerns.[4]
Nadal withdrew from the Miami Open.[5]
Nadal won his first two matches losing a total of just 5 games in both combined, but then lost to Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals in three sets.
Nadal saved a match point to defeat Stefanos Tsitsipas, in 3 hours and 38 minutes, the longest final since 1991 (when records began). This was his record-extending 12th title at the event. [6] [7]
Nadal lost to Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals.
Nadal saved two match points to defeat Denis Shapovalov. He then beat Alexander Zverev and Reilly Opelka to reach the final, where he defeated longtime rival Novak Djokovic in three sets.
See also: 2021 French Open – Men's Singles. At the French Open, Nadal entered as the heavy favorite seeking to become the first man to win 21 majors. He reached the semifinals after wins over Jannik Sinner and Diego Schwartzman, where he encountered Novak Djokovic in a rematch of the previous year's final. There, Nadal was upset by eventual champion Djokovic in four sets, in only his third-ever loss at the French Open.
See also: 2021 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Singles. Nadal withdrew from both Wimbledon and the Olympics, citing schedule reasons.
Nadal made his Washington debut in 2021. He faced Jack Sock in his opener, his first match since losing to Novak Djokovic at the French Open. Nadal recovered from a break down in the third set, prevailing in a final set tiebreak. He lost in the round of 16 to Lloyd Harris (tennis) in three sets.
Following more injury problems, Nadal withdrew from Toronto and Cincinnati, and, on August 20, ended his season, citing his ongoing foot injury as the main issue.
This table chronicles all the matches of Rafael Nadal in 2021.
Per Rafael Nadal, this is his current 2021 schedule (subject to change).[9] The ATP rankings are currently affected by the COVID-19 pandemic; they are on a Best of 24-month basis through the week of 15 March 2021. Until then, all the events are non-mandatory and players can use the best result from the same event in that 24-month span.[10]
| Date | Tournament | Location | Tier | Surface | Prev. result | Prev. points | New points | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 February 2021– 7 February 2021 | Melbourne (AUS) | Hard | F | 250 | 0 (250) | Withdrew due to minor back issues | ||
| 8 February 2021– 21 February 2021 | Melbourne (AUS) | Hard | QF | 360 | 360 | Quarterfinals (lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas, 6–3, 6–2, 6–7(4–7), 4–6, 5–7) | ||
| 15 March 2021– 20 March 2021 | Acapulco (MEX) | 500 Series | Hard | W | 500 | 0 (500) | Withdrew | |
| 22 March 2021– 4 April 2021 | Miami (USA) | Hard | NH | N/A | N/A | Withdrew | ||
| 12 April 2021– 18 April 2021 | Monte Carlo (MON) | Masters 1000 | Clay | SF | 360 | 180 | Quarterfinals (lost to  Andrey Rublev, 2–6, 6–4, 2–6) | |
| 19 April 2021– 25 April 2021 | Barcelona (ESP) | 500 Series | Clay | SF | 180 | 500 | Champion (defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas, 6-4, 6–7(6–8), 7–5) | |
| 3 May 2021– 9 May 2021 | Madrid (ESP) | Masters 1000 | Clay | SF | 360 | 180 | Quarterfinals (lost to Alexander Zverev, 4–6, 4–6) | |
| 9 May 2021– 16 May 2021 | Rome (ITA) | Masters 1000 | Clay | QF | 180 (1000) | 1000 | Champion (defeated  Novak Djokovic, 7-5, 1–6, 6–3) | |
| 31 May 2021– 13 June 2021 | Paris (FRA) | Grand Slam | Clay | W | 2000 | 720 (1000) | Semifinals (lost to Novak Djokovic, 6–3, 3–6, 6–7(4–7), 2–6) | |
| 28 June 2021– 11 July 2021 | London (GBR) | Grand Slam | Grass | SF | 720 | 0 (360) | Withdrew | |
| 31 July 2021– 8 August 2021 | Washington (USA) | 500 Series | Hard | A | N/A | 45 | Third round (lost to L Harris, 4–6, 6–1,4-6) | |
| 6 August 2021– 15 August 2021 | Toronto (CAN) | Masters 1000 | Hard | NH | 1000 | 0 (500) | Withdrew | |
| 15 August 2021– 22 August 2021 | Mason (USA) | Masters 1000 | Hard | A | 0 | 0 | ||
| 6 August 2021– 15 August 2021 | New York (USA) | Grand Slam | Hard | A | 0 (2000) | 0 | ||
| 4 October 2021– 11 October 2021 | Indian Wells (USA) | Masters 1000 | Hard | NH | 360 | 0 | ||
| 1 November 2021– 7 November 2021 | Paris (FRA) | Masters 1000 | Hard | SF | 360 | 0 | ||
| Total year-end points | 9850 | difference | ||||||
Rafael Nadal has a ATP match win–loss record in the 2021 season. His record against players who were part of the ATP rankings Top Ten at the time of their meetings is . Bold indicates player was ranked top 10 at the time of at least one meeting. The following list is ordered by number of wins:
Cameron Norrie 3–0
Alexei Popyrin 2–0
Jannik Sinner 2–0
Carlos Alcaraz 1–0 Pablo Carreño Busta 1–0
Federico Delbonis 1–0 Laslo Đere 1–0 Fabio Fognini 1–0
Richard Gasquet 1–0
Ilya Ivashka 1–0
Michael Mmoh 1–0
Kei Nishikori 1–0 Reilly Opelka 1–0 Diego Schwartzman 1–0
Denis Shapovalov 1–0 Jack Sock 1–0 Novak Djokovic 1–1 Andrey Rublev 0–1| width=200 | Player | Rank | width=275 | Event | Surface | Rd | width=230 | Score | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/175. | Stefanos Tsitsipas | 5 | Barcelona, Spain | Clay | bgcolor=lime | F | 6–4, 6–7(6–8), 7–5 | 3 | ||
| 2/176. | Alexander Zverev | 6 | Rome, Italy | Clay | QF | 6–3, 6–4 | 3 | |||
| 3/177. | Novak Djokovic | bgcolor=lime | 1 | Rome, Italy | Clay | bgcolor=lime | F | 7–5, 1–6, 6–3 | 3 | |
| 4/178. | Diego Schwartzman | 10 | French Open, Paris, France | Clay | QF | 6–3, 4–6, 6–4, 6–0 | 3 |
| valign=top |
| valign=top |
| valign=top |
|
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Barcelona Open, Spain** (12) | 500 Series | Clay | Stefanos Tsitsipas | 6–4, 6–7(6–8), 7–5 | ||
| Win | 2–0 | May 2021 | Italian Open, Italy** (10) | Masters 1000 | Clay | Novak Djokovic | 7–5, 1–6, 6–3 |
| Singles | ||
| Event | Prize money | Year-to-date |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A$525,000 | $360,832 |
| €46,500 | $416,144 | |
| Barcelona Open | €178,985 | $629,046 |
| €58,370 | $699,195 | |
| €245,085 | $997,268 | |
| €375,000 | $1,454,432 | |
| $24,400 | $1,478,832 | |
| $1,478,832 | ||
| Total | ||
| $1,478,832 | ||
At the Barcelona Open, Nadal's semifinals match versus Pablo Carreño Busta averaged 773,000 viewers on RTVE's La 1 and 115,000 on #Vamos. The final match versus Stefanos Tsitsipas averaged 1.5 million viewers on La 1 (equivalent to a 11.3% share), 87,000 on #Vamos and 68,000 on Movistar Deportes.[11] [12] [13] [14]
At the Madrid Open, his quarter-finals match versus Alexander Zverev averaged 447,000 viewers on Teledeporte.[15]
At the Italian Open, his final match versus Novak Djokovic averaged 363,00 viewers on #Vamos.[16]