Vietnamese tennis ace climbs higher above Nadal in world ranking update

Nam's performance in November helped him rise to 549th. The number one tennis player in Vietnam advanced to the quarterfinals in two out of three M25 tournaments that he attended last month.

This is not Nam’s career-high ranking, as he climbed to 231st in November last year.

Nadal, one of the greatest tennis players of all time, has barely played in a year due to injury. He dropped out of the top 600 last month as he was deducted 200 points earned in the 2022 ATP Finals, after failing to attend the tournament.

The tennis legend has not competed since he got a hip injury in the Australia Opens in early 2023. The 37-year-old struggled with treatment before going for surgery in June and missed the rest of the season. He has announced his plan to return one last time before retiring next year after a series of injuries in recent years.

On March 20, he dropped out of the ATP top 10 for the first time in 18 years, ending the record of 912 consecutive weeks in the world top 10 with a total of 6,538 days, starting from April 2005.

If Nadal cannot recover in time to attend the 2024 Roland Garros, his score will return to zero.