Nadal crowned ITF World Champion for a fourth time
Rafael Nadal has been named men’s ITF World Champion for a fourth time following a stellar 2019 during which he captured two Grand Slam titles and spearheaded Spain’s Davis Cup triumph.
Nadal remains the only Spaniard to have the honour of men’s ITF World Champion bestowed upon him and moves alongside Ivan Lendl on the list of all-time winners. Only Roger Federer (five), Novak Djokovic and Pete Sampras (both six) have claimed more.
“I am very happy to be named ITF World Champion and receive this award from the ITF," said Nadal. "To finish as No. 1 on the ATP rankings for a fifth time and win two more Grand Slam titles this year has been something that, looking a few years back, we would have never thought would happen. And as a perfect end, it was particularly special to win the Davis Cup at home in Spain. Thank you also to my team who has been with me all this time.”
It was a campaign that witnessed Nadal playing some of the finest tennis of his career, compiling a 58-7 match record and finishing the season as the year-end world No. 1 for the fifth time.
The Mallorcan once again thrived on the clay of Paris and scooped an historic and record-extending 12th Roland Garros title in June by defeating Austria’s Dominic Thiem in the final.
His prowess in the French capital is unrivalled and the 33-year-old progressed with ruthless efficiency, dropping just one set on his way to the final and defeating Switzerland’s Roger Federer in the last four.
Federer exacted revenge on the grass of Wimbledon, however, as Nadal, who also snared titles at Rome and Montreal in 2019, bowed out in four sets in the semi-finals.
Nadal rose from those ashes and a fourth US Open crown arrived in September as he overcame Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in the final, posting double Grand Slam joy in the same season for the first time since 2017.
By virtue of reaching the Australian Open finale in January, where he lost in clinical fashion to Novak Djokovic of Serbia, it was the fourth occasion that Nadal contested three Grand Slam finals in a calendar year.
Such a breathtaking season meant he finished 2019 at the summit of the men’s game and became the fifth player to do so on five or more occasions. Sampras, Jimmy Connors, Federer and Djokovic are the others.
There is an 11-year gap between the first time he finished the year as world No. 1 in 2008 and his most recent, while left-hander Nadal is the oldest player in the history of the rankings to finish in top spot.
His status as year-end No. 1 was confirmed by results at the ATP Finals at The O2 in London in November, although Nadal’s 2019 silverware charge was far from complete.
Later that same month, Nadal was front and centre of Spain’s victory, their sixth in competition history and first since 2011, at the inaugural Davis Cup by Rakuten Madrid Finals.
Nadal won all eight matches he contested during the week – five in singles and three in doubles – as Spain advanced to the final and duly beat Canada to lift silverware.
Somewhat inevitably, it was Nadal’s victory against Denis Shapovalov, which built upon Roberto Bautista Agut’s earlier singles win, that settled matters and sparked wild celebrations among the host nation at Caja Magica.