Rafael Nadal impressively managed to reach over 20 million followers on Instagram despite being inactive on a tennis court since January.
Nadal's entire career has been plagued with a catalogue of injuries, and the latest setback is a recurring hip issue. That hip problem dates back as far as 2018, and he's had two major surgeries to try and prolong his career further.
Nadal lost in the second round of the Australian Open and has continued to delay his comeback since. He was a notable absentee during a clay court swing he normally features so heavily in, and bad news later surfaced that he would be calling an end to his 2023 season prematurely to heal the problem.
As much as Nadal's struggles physically have been well-documented in the last twelve months in particular, the Spaniard continues to drive such a buzz on social media.
Despite not being a part of the tour virtually throughout the whole 2023 ATP season, Nadal has somehow managed to improve his Instagram following to over 20 million, the most of any tennis player ever.
Nadal isn't necessarily someone who really posts on social media that consistently, but when he does, he gathers a lot of attention, transcending the sport in many ways and bringing a lot of interest from casual tennis fans in addition.
Other significant tennis players that hold a huge following on Instagram, include Serena Williams, who has 17 million followers in total. Nadal's two biggest rivals in Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, have a lot of catching up to do, with Djokovic just shy of the 14 million mark, while Federer is followed by 12 million people all in all.
Nadal plans to make one last return to centre stage next season, where he hopes to give one last farewell to his fans and to retire on his own terms. That has looked in jeopardy for quite some time, but maybe Nadal may be able to conclude things on a tennis court on a high note.
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