Rafael Nadal's record top-10 streak in danger as he drops to lowest rank since 2017 ahead of Indian Wells

On the day that Novak Djokovic broke Steffi Graf’s all-time record for most weeks as world No. 1, Rafael Nadal’s hopes of breaking a long-standing record set by Martina Navratilova look a little slimmer. Nadal has dropped to No.

8 in the rankings this week, which is his lowest position since January 2017. Ad Nadal, 36, has not played since the Australian Open as he recovers from injury, and he has dropped 500 points from his ranking as he isn’t returning to defend his Mexican Open title. Tennis'My main rival is still Nadal' — Djokovic 'cannot call' Alcaraz bigger rival23/02/2023 AT 10:16 He is currently on 3,315 points and has been overtaken in the rankings by Daniil Medvedev after he beat Andy Murray to win the Qatar Open.

More significantly than dropping to No. 8, Nadal is close to falling out of the top 10 for the first time since 2005. Nadal has never left the top 10 since first breaking into it with victory at the Barcelona Open as an 18-year-old.

In 2020, he broke Jimmy Connors’ record of 789 consecutive weeks inside the top 10 and his current mark stands at 910 weeks. The only person to have spent more successive weeks in the top 10 is Martina Navratilova, with exactly 1,000. Exclusive: Djokovic breaking legendary Graf record 'very unique' says Corretja The numbers behind Djokovic's record-breaking 378 weeks as No.

1 That record now looks unlikely for Nadal unless he returns for the first ATP 1000 of the season at Indian Wells, which starts on March 8. Nadal’s chances of playing the tournament look slim after he pulled out of an exhibition event in Las Vegas against Carlos Alcaraz planned for March 5. Raducanu withdraws from Austin due to tonsillitis Medvedev beats Murray to win Qatar Open «I am very sad for not