By  Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Monday April 26, 2021

Rafael Nadal has always been one to put up mind-boggling numbers, particularly on the clay, where he is a 13-time Roland-Garros champion and a holder of double-digit titles at three events (12 at Barcelona and 11 at Monte-Carlo), in addition to being top of the clay-court title list with 61.




But Nadal’s latest milestone has less to do with titles and more to do with good old-fashioned consistency. The Spaniard, as of Monday’s ATP rankings, has now held a spot in the ATP’s Top 10 for a whopping 814 consecutive weeks. That amounts to 16 years of Top 10 tennis, and it all started 16 years ago to the day, when Nadal climbed into the Top 10 after claiming his maiden title at the Barcelona Open in 2005.

It was a milestone that was part of a years’ worth of milestones for Nadal. The pirate-panted phenom would claim his maiden Roland-Garros title a month later and would finish the year ranked at No.2 in the world – all the way from 51 at the start of the season.

Sixteen years ago today, Rafael Nadal cracked the Top 10 of the FedEx ATP Rankings after winning the Barcelona title.

813 weeks later, he still hasn't left! #InfosysStats pic.twitter.com/GOY9isDLdE

— ATP Tour (@atptour) April 25, 2021