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.
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 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.
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.
Key
W
F
SF
QF
#R
RR
Q#
P#
DNQ
A
Z#
PO
G
S
B
NMS
NTI
P
NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.
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:
^Points carried over due to the Best of 24-month ranking being extended through and including the week of 1 March 2021.[8]
^ abcdPoints carried over due to the Best of 24-month ranking being used for events between 4 March – 5 August 2019, that were not played in 2020, but weighted at 50%.[8]
^Removal Of ATP Rankings Points From 2022 Wimbledon.[9]
