Vietnamese tennis player surpasses Nadal on world ranking

Rafael Nadal (R) and Ly Hoang Nam at the 2023 Australian Open. Photo courtesy of Ly Hoang Nam

In the latest update of ATP world ranking, Nadal has 45 points, placing 664th while Nam is 535th with 68 points.

Nadal dropped 420 places compared to the previous ranking update, as he was deducted 200 points earned in the 2022 ATP Finals, after failing to attend this year’s 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 on a surgery in June and missed the rest of the season. He announced his plan to retire 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 25, 2005.

After the 2023 Roland Garros, Nadal dropped out of the top 100. He dropped over 100 places after the 2023 U.S. Open. In early October, Craig Tiley, director of the Australian Open, revealed that Nadal had personally confirmed with him that he would participate in the 2024 tournament. If Nadal cannot recover in time to attend the tournament, his score will return to zero.

Nam, Vietnam's number one tennis player, had 30 points deducted from last week and dropped 92 places to 535th. On Tuesday, Nam won his opening match at the M25 Hua Hin tournament in Thailand, with a 2-1 victory over the host’s player Kasidit Samrej.