The 2021 Rafael Nadal tennis season officially began on 9 February 2021, with the start of the Australian Open.

Yearly summary Early hard court season ATP Cup 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.

Australian Open

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. 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 Indian Wells Masters was scheduled to take place in March 2021 but was postponed due to coronavirus concerns. Miami Open Nadal withdrew from the Miami Open. Spring clay court season Monte-Carlo Masters 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.

Barcelona Open 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. Yahoo!news:Tennis-Nadal outlasts Tsitsipas to claim 12th Barcelona Open title

Madrid Open Nadal lost to Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals.

Italian Open 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.

French Open

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.

Grass court season Wimbledon

Nadal withdrew from both Wimbledon and the Olympics, citing schedule reasons. North American hard court season

Washington (Citi Open)

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 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.

All matches This table chronicles all the matches of Rafael Nadal in 2021.

Singles matches

Exhibition matches Singles

Schedule Per Rafael Nadal, this is his current 2021 schedule (subject to change). 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.

Singles schedule DateTournamentLocationTierSurfacePrev.resultPrev.pointsNewpointsResult 2 February 2021–7 February 2021 ATP Cup Melbourne (AUS) ATP Cup Hard F 250 0 (250) Withdrew due to minor back issues 8 February 2021–21 February 2021 Australian Open Melbourne (AUS) Grand Slam 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 Mexican Open Acapulco (MEX) 500 Series Hard W 500 0 (500) Withdrew 22 March 2021–4 April 2021 Miami Open Miami (USA) Masters 1000 Hard NH N/A N/A Withdrew 12 April 2021–18 April 2021 Monte Carlo Masters 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 Open 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 Open Madrid (ESP) Masters 1000 Clay SF 360 180 Quarterfinals (lost to Alexander Zverev, 4–6, 4–6) 9 May 2021–16 May 2021 Italian Open 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 French Open 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 Wimbledon London (GBR) Grand Slam Grass SF 720 0 (360) Withdrew 31 July 2021–8 August 2021 Citi Open 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 Canadian Open Toronto (CAN) Masters 1000 Hard NH 1000 0 (500) Withdrew 15 August 2021–22 August 2021 Cincinnati Masters Mason (USA) Masters 1000 Hard A 0 0 6 August 2021–15 August 2021 US Open New York (USA) Grand Slam Hard A 0 (2000) 0 4 October 2021–11 October 2021 Indian Wells Masters Indian Wells (USA) Masters 1000 Hard NH 360 0 1 November 2021–7 November 2021 Paris Masters Paris (FRA) Masters 1000 Hard SF 360 0Total year-end points 9850 difference

Yearly records Head-to-head matchups 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 Grigor Dimitrov 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 Stefanos Tsitsipas 1–1 Alexander Zverev 1–1 Novak Djokovic 1–1 Lloyd Harris 0–1 Andrey Rublev 0–1

* Statistics correct .

Top 10 wins #PlayerRankEventSurfaceRdScore1/175. Stefanos Tsitsipas5Barcelona, SpainClayF6–4, 6–7(6–8), 7–532/176. Alexander Zverev6Rome, ItalyClayQF6–3, 6–433/177. Novak Djokovic1Rome, ItalyClayF7–5, 1–6, 6–334/178. Diego Schwartzman10French Open, Paris, FranceClayQF6–3, 4–6, 6–4, 6–03

Finals

Singles: 2 (2 titles) CategoryGrand Slam (0–0)ATP Finals (0–0)Masters 1000 (1–0)500 Series (1–0)250 Series (0–0)Titles by surfaceHard (0–0)Clay (2–0)Grass (0–0)Titles by settingOutdoor (2–0)Indoor (0–0) ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScoreWin 1–0 Barcelona Open, Spain** (12)500 Series Clay Stefanos Tsitsipas 6–4, 6–7(6–8), 7–5Win 2–0 May 2021Italian Open, Italy** (10)Masters 1000 Clay Novak Djokovic 7–5, 1–6, 6–3 (**) signifies tournaments where Nadal won the title after saving at least one match point.

Earnings

Bold font denotes tournament win

Singles Event Prize money Year-to-date Australian Open A$525,000 $360,832 Monte-Carlo Masters €46,500 $416,144Barcelona Open€178,985 $629,046 Madrid Open €58,370 $699,195 Italian Open €245,085$997,268 French Open €375,000 $1,454,432 Washington Open $24,400 $1,478,832 $1,478,832 Total $1,478,832 Figures in United States dollars (USD) unless noted. source：2021 Singles Activity source：2021 Doubles Activity

See also 2021 ATP Tour 2021 Novak Djokovic tennis season

Notes

References

External links

ATP tour profile