2022 Rafael Nadal tennis season

2022 Rafael Nadal tennis season

Full name	Rafael Nadal Parera
Country	Spain
Calendar prize money	$9,368,326[1]
Singles
Season record	39–8
Calendar titles	4
Year-end ranking	No. 2
Ranking change from previous year	4
Grand Slam & significant results
Australian Open	W
French Open	W
Wimbledon	SF (withdrew)
US Open	4R
Doubles
Season record	1–1
Current ranking	No. 1159
Ranking change from previous year	648
Injuries
Injuries	Stress fracture to rib Abdominal tear
← 2021 2023 →

The 2022 Rafael Nadal tennis season officially began on 3 January 2022, with the start of the ATP 250 tournament in Melbourne.^[2][3] It includes Nadal's best start to an ATP Tour season, when he won his first 20 matches (and three titles, including the Australian Open) in a row. It was also his career-first season winning the first two majors of the year, hence completing the Australian-French title double. As such, Nadal broke his tie with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, and became the first man in history to win a total 21 (after winning the 2022 Australian Open), and 22 (after winning the 2022 French Open) Grand Slam singles titles.

Rafael Nadal won his 89th ATP singles title at Melbourne Summer Set 1 without dropping a set en route, defeating qualifier Maxime Cressy in the final.

Nadal won his second Australian Open title and 21st men's singles major title overall, surpassing an all-time record he jointly held with Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. Nadal defeated Denis Shapovalov and Matteo Berrettini en route to the final, where he outlasted Daniil Medvedev in five hours and 24 minutes. Nadal was down two sets, and serving at 2-3 0-40 in the third, eventually winning 2-6 6-7(5-7) 6-4 6-4 7-5. It was Nadal's 90th ATP title, and he became the second man in the Open Era, after Djokovic, to achieve the double career Grand Slam.

Nadal stormed to the title in high form, not dropping a set in any of his five matches (including a win over Medvedev, who earlier that week had clinched the world No. 1 ranking). He beat Cameron Norrie in the final to win his third title of the year and extend his unbeaten streak for the season to 15-0, his career-best start to an ATP Tour season.

Nadal reached the final for a fifth time after beating Sebastian Korda, Daniel Evans, Reilly Opelka, Nick Kyrgios and compatriot Carlos Alcaraz. He then lost in the final to Taylor Fritz, ending his 20 match winning streak, which marks his career-best start to a season.

Nadal missed the Monte Carlo Masters and the Barcelona Open citing a rib injury sustained in the Indian Wells final. It was the first time since 2004 that he was forced to miss Monte Carlo and Barcelona where he has won 11 and 12 titles respectively.

Nadal returned to play in Madrid. In his first match he beat Miomir Kecmanović, then saved 4 match points to beat David Goffin to reach the quarterfinals, where he was defeated by eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz in three sets.

Nadal returned to Rome as the defending champion, and defeated John Isner in straight sets in the second round. Nadal faced physical pain during his third round encounter with Denis Shapovalov due to his prevailing chronic foot injury, and lost in three sets.

Nadal won his 14th French Open title and a record-extending 22nd men's singles major title overall. He defeated four Top-10 players en route to the title; Félix Auger-Aliassime (fourth round), Novak Djokovic (quarterfinals), Alexander Zverev (semifinals), and Casper Ruud (final). Nadal completed the Australian–French double for the first time in his career, and became one of five men to do so in the Open Era. Nadal also became the oldest singles champion (36 years 2 days) in the history of the French Open.

After treating his foot injury, Nadal returned to Wimbledon for the first time in three years. However, he tore an abdominal muscle during the tournament, which was aggravated after his quarterfinal match against Taylor Fritz. Despite winning the encounter, Nadal withdrew from the tournament the following day.^[4]

Nadal returned to the Cincinnati Masters in his first match since facing an abdominal muscle tear at Wimbledon, however lost to the eventual-champion Borna Ćorić in the opening round.

Nadal returned to the US Open after not playing for 3 years and had his first hard court match since Cincinnati. He beat Rinky Hijikata in the first round, Fabio Fognini in the second round and Richard Gasquet in the third round. In the fourth round Nadal lost to Frances Tiafoe, ending his bid of a 3rd major in 2022.

Nadal participated at the Laver Cup in London. He played just one doubles match, alongside longtime friend and rival Roger Federer in what was Federer's final professional tennis match. The pair lost to Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe 11-9 in the final set tiebreak, despite holding a match point on Federer's serve. Team World went on to claim their first Laver Cup title.

Nadal returned to the Paris Masters after not playing for 2 years, however lost to Tommy Paul in the opening round.

On October 24, Nadal confirmed his participation at the ATP Finals in Turin. He lost his opening matches to Taylor Fritz and Félix Auger-Aliassime in straight sets. He went on beat Casper Ruud, but he failed to advance to the semifinals.

This table chronicles all the matches of Rafael Nadal in 2022.

Tournament	Match	Round	Opponent (seed or key)	Rank	Result	Score
Melbourne Summer Set Melbourne, Australia ATP Tour 250 Hard, outdoor 3 – 9 January 2022
	–	1R	Bye
	1 / 1238	2R	Ričardas Berankis (Q)	104	Win	6–2, 7–5
	–	QF	Tallon Griekspoor	64	W/O	N/A
	2 / 1239	SF	Emil Ruusuvuori (Alt.)	95	Win	6–4, 7–5
	3 / 1240	W	Maxime Cressy (Q)	112	Win (1)	7–6(8–6), 6–3
Australian Open Melbourne, Australia Grand Slam tournament Hard, outdoor 17 – 30 January 2022
	4 / 1241	1R	Marcos Giron	66	Win	6–1, 6–4, 6–2
	5 / 1242	2R	Yannick Hanfmann (Q)	126	Win	6–2, 6–3, 6–4
	6 / 1243	3R	Karen Khachanov (28)	30	Win	6–3, 6–2, 3–6, 6–1
	7 / 1244	4R	Adrian Mannarino	69	Win	7–6(16–14), 6–2, 6–2
	8 / 1245	QF	Denis Shapovalov (14)	14	Win	6–3, 6–4, 4–6, 3–6, 6–3
	9 / 1246	SF	Matteo Berrettini (7)	7	Win	6–3, 6–2, 3–6, 6–3
	10 / 1247	W	Daniil Medvedev (2)	2	Win (2)	2–6, 6–7(5–7), 6–4, 6–4, 7–5
Mexican Open Acapulco, Mexico ATP Tour 500 Hard, outdoor 21 – 26 February 2022
	11 / 1248	1R	Denis Kudla (LL)	100	Win	6–3, 6–2
	12 / 1249	2R	Stefan Kozlov (LL)	130	Win	6–0, 6–3
	13 / 1250	QF	Tommy Paul	39	Win	6–0, 7–6(7–5)
	14 / 1251	SF	Daniil Medvedev (1)	2	Win	6–3, 6–3
	15 / 1252	W	Cameron Norrie (6)	12	Win (3)	6–4, 6–4
Indian Wells Masters Indian Wells, United States ATP Tour Masters 1000 Hard, outdoor 10 – 20 March 2022
	–	1R	Bye
	16 / 1253	2R	Sebastian Korda	38	Win	6–2, 1–6, 7–6(7–3)
	17 / 1254	3R	Dan Evans (27)	28	Win	7–5, 6–3
	18 / 1255	4R	Reilly Opelka (17)	17	Win	7–6(7–3), 7–6(7–5)
	19 / 1256	QF	Nick Kyrgios (WC)	132	Win	7–6(7–0), 5–7, 6–4
	20 / 1257	SF	Carlos Alcaraz (19)	19	Win	6–4, 4–6, 6–3
	21 / 1258	F	Taylor Fritz (20)	20	Loss	3–6, 6–7(5–7)
Madrid Open Madrid, Spain ATP Tour Masters 1000 Clay, outdoor 2 – 8 May 2022
	–	1R	Bye
	22 / 1259	2R	Miomir Kecmanović	32	Win	6–1, 7–6(7–4)
	23 / 1260	3R	David Goffin (Q)	60	Win	6–3, 5–7, 7–6(11–9)
	24 / 1261	QF	Carlos Alcaraz (7)	9	Loss	2–6, 6–1, 3–6
Italian Open Rome, Italy ATP Tour Masters 1000 Clay, outdoor 8 – 15 May 2022
	–	1R	Bye
	25 / 1262	2R	John Isner	27	Win	6–3, 6–1
	26 / 1263	3R	Denis Shapovalov (13)	16	Loss	6–1, 5–7, 2–6
French Open Paris, France Grand Slam tournament Clay, outdoor 22 May – 5 June 2022
	27 / 1264	1R	Jordan Thompson	82	Win	6–2, 6–2, 6–2
	28 / 1265	2R	Corentin Moutet (WC)	139	Win	6–3, 6–1, 6–4
	29 / 1266	3R	Botic van de Zandschulp (26)	29	Win	6–3, 6–2, 6–4
	30 / 1267	4R	Félix Auger-Aliassime (9)	9	Win	3–6, 6–3, 6–2, 3–6, 6–3
	31 / 1268	QF	Novak Djokovic (1)	1	Win	6–2, 4–6, 6–2, 7–6(7–4)
	32 / 1269	SF	Alexander Zverev (3)	3	Win	7–6(10–8), 6–6(0–0), ret.
	33 / 1270	W	Casper Ruud (8)	8	Win (4)	6–3, 6–3, 6–0
Wimbledon Championships London, United Kingdom Grand Slam tournament Grass, outdoor 27 June – 10 July 2022
	34 / 1271	1R	Francisco Cerúndolo	41	Win	6–4, 6–3, 3–6, 6–4
	35 / 1272	2R	Ričardas Berankis	106	Win	6–4, 6–4, 4–6, 6–3
	36 / 1273	3R	Lorenzo Sonego (27)	54	Win	6–1, 6–2, 6–4
	37 / 1274	4R	Botic van de Zandschulp (21)	25	Win	6–4, 6–2, 7–6(8–6)
	38 / 1275	QF	Taylor Fritz (11)	14	Win	3–6, 7–5, 3–6, 7–5, 7–6(10–4)
	–	SF	Nick Kyrgios	40	walkover	N/A
Cincinnati Masters Cincinnati, United States ATP Tour Masters 1000 Hard, outdoor 14 – 21 August 2022
	–	1R	Bye
	39 / 1276	2R	Borna Ćorić (PR)	152	Loss	6–7(9–11), 6–4, 3–6
US Open New York City, United States Grand Slam tournament Hard, outdoor 29 August – 11 September 2022
	40 / 1277	1R	Rinky Hijikata (WC)	198	Win	4–6, 6–2, 6–3, 6–3
	41 / 1278	2R	Fabio Fognini	60	Win	2–6, 6–4, 6–2, 6–1
	42 / 1279	3R	Richard Gasquet	91	Win	6–0, 6–1, 7–5
	43 / 1280	4R	Frances Tiafoe (22)	26	Loss	4–6, 6–4, 4–6, 3–6
Paris Masters Paris, France ATP Tour Masters 1000 Hard, indoor 31 October – 6 November 2022
	–	1R	Bye
	44 / 1281	2R	Tommy Paul	31	Loss	6–3, 6–7(4–7), 1–6
ATP Finals Turin, Italy ATP Finals Hard, indoor 13 – 20 November 2022
	45 / 1282	RR	Taylor Fritz (8)	9	Loss	6–7(3–7), 1–6
	46 / 1283	RR	Félix Auger-Aliassime (5)	6	Loss	3–6, 4–6
	47 / 1284	RR	Casper Ruud (3)	4	Win	7–5, 7–5

Tournament	Match	Round	Opponents (seed or key)	Ranks	Result	Score
Melbourne Summer Set Melbourne, Australia ATP Tour 250 Hard, outdoor 3 – 9 January 2022 Partner: Jaume Munar
	1 / 212	1R	Sebastián Báez / Tomás Martín Etcheverry (Alt.)	886 / 281	Win	6–3, 3–6, [10–4]
	–	2R	Andrey Golubev / Franko Škugor (4)	28 / 53	Withdrew	N/A
Laver Cup London, United Kingdom Laver Cup Hard, indoor 23 – 25 September 2022 Partner: Roger Federer
	2 / 213	Day 1	Jack Sock / Frances Tiafoe	43 / 220	Loss	6–4, 6–72–7, [9–11]

Tournament	Match	Round	Opponent (seed or key)	Rank	Result	Score
Mubadala World Tennis Championship Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Hard, outdoor 16 – 18 December 2021 [5][6]
	–	QF	Bye
	1	SF	Andy Murray	134	Loss	3–6, 5–7
	2	PO	Denis Shapovalov	14	Loss	7–6(7–4), 3–6, [6–10]
Hurlingham Tennis Classic London, United Kingdom Grass, outdoor 22 – 24 June 2022
	3	PO	Stan Wawrinka	267	Win	6–2, 6–3
	4	PO	Félix Auger-Aliassime	9	Loss	6–7(6–8), 6–4, [3–10]

Per Rafael Nadal, this is his current 2022 schedule (subject to change).^[7]

Date	Tournament	Location	Tier	Surface	Prev. result	Prev. points	New points	Result
4 January 2022– 9 January 2022	Melbourne Summer Set	Melbourne (AUS)	250 Series	Hard	N/A	N/A	250	Champion (defeated Maxime Cressy, 7–6(8–6), 6–3)
17 January 2022– 30 January 2022	Australian Open	Melbourne (AUS)	Grand Slam	Hard	QF	360	2000	Champion (defeated Daniil Medvedev, 2–6, 6–7(5–7), 6–4, 6–4, 7–5)
21 February 2022– 26 February 2022	Mexican Open	Acapulco (MEX)	500 Series	Hard	W	0 (500[a])	500	Champion (defeated Cameron Norrie, 6–4, 6–4)
10 March 2022– 20 March 2022	Indian Wells Masters	Indian Wells (USA)	Masters 1000	Hard	A	0	600	Final (lost to Taylor Fritz, 3–6, 6–7(5–7))
10 April 2022– 17 April 2022	Monte-Carlo Masters	Roquebrune-Cap-Martin (FRA)	Masters 1000	Clay	QF	180 (180[b])	0	Withdrew
18 April 2022– 24 April 2022	Barcelona Open	Barcelona (ESP)	500 Series	Clay	W	500	0
2 May 2022– 8 May 2022	Madrid Open	Madrid (ESP)	Masters 1000	Clay	QF	180 (180[b])	180	Quarterfinals (lost to Carlos Alcaraz, 2–6, 6–1, 3–6)
8 May 2022– 15 May 2022	Italian Open	Rome (ITA)	Masters 1000	Clay	W	1000	90	Third round (lost to Denis Shapovalov, 6–1, 5–7, 2–6)
22 May 2022– 5 June 2022	French Open	Paris (FRA)	Grand Slam	Clay	SF	720 (1000[b])	2000	Champion (defeated Casper Ruud, 6–3, 6–3, 6–0)
27 June 2022– 10 July 2022	Wimbledon	London (GBR)	Grand Slam	Grass	A	0 (360[b])	0[c]	Semifinals (withdrew due to an abdominal tear)
14 August 2022– 21 August 2022	Cincinnati Masters	Cincinnati (USA)	Masters 1000	Hard	A	0	10	Second round (lost to Borna Ćorić, 6–7(9–11), 6–4, 3–6)
29 August 2022– 11 September 2022	US Open	New York (USA)	Grand Slam	Hard	A	0	180	Fourth round (lost to Frances Tiafoe, 4–6, 6–4, 4–6, 3–6)
31 October 2022– 6 November 2022	Paris Masters	Paris (FRA)	Masters 1000	Hard (i)	N/A	0	10	Second round (lost to Tommy Paul, 6–3, 6–7(4–7), 1–6)
13 November 2022– 20 November 2022	ATP Finals	Turin (ITA)	Tour Finals	Hard (i)	N/A	N/A	200	Round robin (1 win – 2 losses)
Total year-end points						4875	6020	1145 difference

Rafael Nadal has a 39–8 ATP match win–loss record in the 2022 season. His record against players who were part of the ATP rankings Top Ten at the time of their meetings is 8–3. Bold indicates player was ranked top 10 at the time of at least one meeting. The following list is ordered by number of wins:

* Statistics correct as of 17 November 2022^[update].

#	Player	Rank	Event	Surface	Rd	Score	RNR
1/179	Matteo Berrettini	7	Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia	Hard	SF	6–3, 6–2, 3–6, 6–3	5
2/180	Daniil Medvedev	2	Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia	Hard	F	2–6, 6–7(5–7), 6–4, 6–4, 7–5	5
3/181	Daniil Medvedev	2	Acapulco, Mexico	Hard	SF	6–3, 6–3	5
4/182	Félix Auger-Aliassime	9	French Open, Paris, France	Clay	4R	3–6, 6–3, 6–2, 3–6, 6–3	5
5/183	Novak Djokovic	1	French Open, Paris, France	Clay	QF	6–2, 4–6, 6–2, 7–6(7–4)	5
6/184	Alexander Zverev	3	French Open, Paris, France	Clay	SF	7–6(10–8), 6–6, ret.	5
7/185	Casper Ruud	7	French Open, Paris, France	Clay	F	6–3, 6–3, 6–0	5
8/186	Casper Ruud	4	ATP Finals, Turin, Italy	Hard (i)	RR	7–5, 7–5	2

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1–0	Jan 2022	Melbourne Summer Set, Australia*	250 Series	Hard	Maxime Cressy	7–6(8–6), 6–3
Win	2–0	Jan 2022	Australian Open, Australia (2)	Grand Slam	Hard	Daniil Medvedev	2–6, 6–7(5–7), 6–4, 6–4, 7–5
Win	3–0	Feb 2022	Mexican Open, Mexico* (4)	500 Series	Hard	Cameron Norrie	6–4, 6–4
Loss	3–1	Mar 2022	Indian Wells Masters, US	Masters 1000	Hard	Taylor Fritz	3–6, 6–7(5–7)
Win	4–1	Jun 2022	French Open, France (14)	Grand Slam	Clay	Casper Ruud	6–3, 6–3, 6–0

(*) signifies tournaments where Nadal won the title without dropping a set.

• Bold font denotes tournament win

Figures in United States dollars (USD) unless noted.

• source：2022 Singles Activity
• source：2022 Doubles Activity

• Best match win streak at the start of a season (20)^[10]

• 2022 ATP Tour
• 2022 Novak Djokovic tennis season
• 2022 Daniil Medvedev tennis season
• 2022 Carlos Alcaraz tennis season

• Official website (in Spanish)
• ATP tour profile