Rafael Nadal 2020 review: 20th Grand Slam, 1000 match wins cap off year of little play

Despite playing just six tournaments and winning just two titles in 2020, Rafael Nadal will do down as one of the biggest winners of this year. Nadal lost his first tournament of the year- the newly created ATP Cup - to Djokovic early in January this year. Having started the year as the World No.1, Nadal slipped below his archrival, Novak Djokovic after the latter's 8th title win at the Australia Open in January. His first title in 2020 came in Acapulco, at the Mexican Open. This marked the last tournament Nadal played before the suspension of the circuit due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

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Nadal Grand Slams and other records in 2020

With his much-anticipated return to the tour delayed, Rafa made his first post-resumption appearance on clay, at the Rome Masters. The King of Clay crashed out of the Masters 1000 event after a quarterfinal loss to youngster Diego Schwartzmann. While there was much talk about his form and the unsuitable conditions in Paris ahead of the French Open, Rafa quickly put to bed any of these misgivings. He bulldozed past all his opponents to set up a finals clash with Novak Djokovic, winning it 6-0, 6-2, 7-5. 

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The Nadal French Open win of 2020 will also no doubt go down in history as one of the most brutal Grand Slam finals victories. It marked an incredible, 13th title at the French Open - and a record-equalling 20th Slam title - for Nadal. However, it will also be remembered for some smaller but equally great achievements. Nadal's final win was his 100th win at Roland Garros, taking his all-time win-loss record to 100-2. It also marked the 4th time that he won a Grand Slam without losing a set. 

Returning to the Rolex Paris Masters, Nadal earned another career milestone - his 1,000th tour-level win. His 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 victory against Feliciano Lopez in the opening round in Paris made Rafa just the fourth player in the Open Era to accomplish the feat alongside Jimmy Connors, Roger Federer and Ivan Lendl. After his semi-final finish at the ATP Finals, Nadal ended the year as the World No. 2. This was his 12th time finishing in the Top 2. 

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Nadal 2020 net worth

Despite winning just two titles this year, Nadal's prize money for the year stands at a massive $3,856,128 according to the ATP. This includes participation fees for each round of each tournament that the Spaniard was able to clear in 2020. This puts the Nadal 2020 net worth figure at almost $200 Million according to celebritynetworth. Nadal's lifetime earnings from tennis stand at $123,482,764 (ATP figures). Besides this, the tennis star earns from his various endorsement deals with brands like Kia, Babolat, Nike, Hilfiger, Richard Mille etc. 

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Disclaimer: The above Rafael Nadal net worth, Rafael Nadal French Open prize money and Rafael Nadal career earnings are sourced from various websites and media reports. The website does not guarantee a 100% accuracy of the Rafael Nadal net worth figure.

Image Credits: Roland Garros Twitter & ATP Twitter