Rafael Nadal

Nadal extended his men's singles record of 22 Grand Slam titles with a win in straight sets over Casper Ruud.

His one genuine surge came at the start of the second set, when he broke Nadal’s serve again to take a 3-1 lead but at 30-30 in the next game, Ruud lined up an inside-out forehand and perhaps sensing that excellence was required, went for just too much and missed. Nadal was not at his best early and was at times far from his best: losing his serve in the third game with two double faults and an off-rhythm forehand unforced error into the middle of the net. That forced Nadal to take another extended break and miss most of the clay-court season before returning in Madrid last month. And there was Nadal, with his extreme topspin forehand and hard-wired combativeness. He certainly looked ready for more against Ruud, picking up speed and precision as the match progressed. That was before the final, and on Sunday afternoon after it was over in a hurry, Ruud made it clear in his runner-up speech his that he had not changed his mind. So many records. It just means a lot of energy to try to keep going.” “It means a lot to me, means everything. Carlos Alcaraz, a young Spaniard, seemed to be rising like a rocket. Nadal’s tone of late has been valedictory: he has repeatedly referred to the possibility that he could be playing his final French Open. But after slamming the door on Ruud on Sunday and then hugging him at the net, Nadal made it clear that this was not going to be the tennis equivalent of a walk-off grand slam. Novak Djokovic appeared to be regathering momentum.

Rafael Nadal captured his 14th French Open and record-extending 22nd major championship with a straight-sets victory over 23-year-old Casper Ruud of Norway.

But Nadal rattled off five straight games, ultimately winning the second set on his fourth set point when Ruud double-faulted to go down two sets to love. After a shaky game in which Nadal himself was broken, he earned a second break of Ruud for 4-1. Nadal has a chance to win the calendar Grand Slam but it appears he won’t compete at Wimbledon and will give himself a chance to rest his chronic foot injury instead. Nadal navigated the much tougher top half of the draw en route to his 14th final. Nadal’s latest win came one day after Iga Świątek of Poland, a huge fan of Nadal’s, won her 35th straight match and second French Open with a straight-sets win over 18-year-old American Coco Gauff. Nadal wished Świątek luck before the match. Despite a chronic foot problem that caused him to limp off the court after losing to Denis Shapovalov in Rome, and has triggered rumblings of retirement, Nadal looked his dominant self at this fortnight.

Rafael Nadal won the 2022 French Open despite not having much feeling in one of his feet.

Nadal wants to play at Wimbledon and attempt to win his third consecutive major, but if the surgery doesn't negate his pain, he won't play. As such, the result of Nadal's surgery will be critical in determining his future in tennis. Wimbledon is not a tournament that I want to miss. At Roland Garros, that meant receiving frequent injections to manage the pain in his foot. However, the No. 5-ranked player is looking for a longer-term solution to the problem. "The preparation was not ideal," Nadal said, per ESPN. "I had a stress fracture of the rib, then I have the foot which stays there all the time.

Rafael Nadal strengthened his lead in the Pepperstone ATP Race To Turin by capturing his 14th title at Roland Garros. The Spaniard is in pole position to ...

The man Nadal defeated in the Roland Garros final, Casper Ruud, surged four spots to fourth in the Race with 3,065 points. Alcaraz, the reigning Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals champion, strengthened his standing in second with 3,820 points as he tries to qualify for the first time. The lefty on Sunday extended his record number of major trophies to 21.

Nadal's victory came two days after his 36th birthday and made him the oldest title winner in the history of the clay-court tournament.

The two had never met in a real match until Sunday, when a championship, money, ranking points, prestige and a piece of history were on the line. He can now place this latest Coupe des Mousquetaires alongside the trophies he gathered at Roland Garros from 2005-08, 2010-14 and 2017-20. He considers Nadal his idol. The Spaniard's first triumph in Paris came in 2005 at age 19. He'd never even played in a major quarterfinal until now. Nadal also committed fewer unforced errors, making just 16 to Ruud's 26.

Rafael Nadal's dominance on clay courts is to be expected. When he enters Roland Garros, his path to the title is Jordanesque, Gretzky-like, Ruthian, ...

His career earnings of $500 million are only half of Roger Federer’s because clay courts are considered the secondary surface on the ATP Tour. Nadal is a superstar on hard courts, but he’s a supernova on clay. Despite his weakened condition, Nadal sounded confident about competing at Wimbledon. Nadal remains the only male player to win three consecutive Grand Slams in a calendar year. He withdrew from the 2021 U.S. Open to rehab and the foot continuously bothered him throughout the French Open. During his French tune-up, Nadal himself was limping through an early round defeat at the Italian Open a month ago. He would also become the second-oldest male Grand Slam Champion in history. Nadal hinted at retirement before the French Open due to the pain caused by his foot and prior to the Final, Nadal told the media that he’d “prefer to lose Sunday’s final” in exchange for a new foot. Nadal’s 22nd Grand Slam gives him two more than his contemporary rivals as the most prolific men’s slam champions in the Open Era.

Tennis superstar Rafael Nadal, now a 22-time Grand Slam winner, is shutting down retirement rumors again, telling "CBS Mornings" he "couldn't be happier" ...

"For me, it's special to be able to feel myself competitive against the young players, and they are good," Nadal said. But here I am, and I couldn't be happier," he said. And doing it all my tennis career, I think I had the determination to keep going. His opponent on Sunday, Ruud, was only 6 years old when Nadal won his first French Open. Nadal beat 23-year-old Casper Ruud of Norway in straight sets, despite a chronic foot injury that flared up at the Italian Open last month. The 36-year-old won his 14th French Open singles title on Sunday, 17 years after winning for the first time in 2005.