Rafael Nadal didn't end up as the winner at the 2024 Bastad Open, but he will be certainly one of the winners on the new ATP Rankings.
One of the most challenging parts of comebacks for tennis players, apart from having to find their rhythm and their match practice again, is usually the lack of ranking points that they have, meaning that players coming back from injuries are usually ranked far below where they were before getting injured.
For this, the ATP and the WTA have certain measures in place, using the protected ranking, or in case of the WTA Tour, the special ranking. This ensures players an entry into a limited number of tournaments based on their previous ranking, helping them to fight their way back.
However, the 'limited' part of this specific measure is what many struggle with. Since the protected ranking is available only for a few tournaments, if a player can't improve their ranking fast enough, they may end up playing lower-tier events.
That's not the case for many of the former Grand Slam winners or successful players, and it's even less of a worry for a player like Nadal, who is one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
The reason is simple, the 38-year-old Spaniard would be likely awarded a wild card for any tournament that he would have asked, given his incredible popularity around the world.
Still, it's only positive for a player not to have to ask for a wild card or rely on the protected ranking, having an option to enter the tournaments directly via ranking, as before, and that's something that Nadal has been closing up on.
At the 2024 Bastad Open, he made the final, but lost to Nuno Borges 3-6, 2-6. The loss was certainly disappointing for the 22-time major winner, but he may find some positives in the ranking points that he will receive for his participation at the ATP 250 tournament.
As a finalist, Nadal will add 165 ATP ranking points to his name, and with only 215 that he previously had, this is a significant improvement for the 14-time French Open champion, who entered the Bastad Open as the World No. 261.
Now, he's set to be ranked 161st, which moves him only a few spots away from entering Grand Slam or some ATP Masters 1000 tournaments directly. After the final, the ranking move, however, was likely the least of concern for Nadal, who found positives elsewhere, and that was in his game, while also recognizing the qualities of his final opponent.
"Many congratulations to Nuno. You’ve been playing great during the whole week, so you deserve it more than anyone else here. Congratulations and enjoy your moment, it’s always special winning a title. I wish you all the very best for the rest of the season."
"I have been here for the week enjoying this amazing place. I really had fun on court, played some very long matches. Today wasn’t my best day, but all the credit to Nuno. He played very well and it was so difficult for me, so well done."
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