For the first time since entering it over 20 years ago, Rafael Nadal will drop out of the Top 100 on the ATP Tour.
It's an end of an era as Nadal's career is clearly coming to an end. The Spaniard enjoyed massive success over the two decades that he graced tennis courts all over the world, but as he puts it, he's 'just one more of all these endings of all the people who have been able to stand out in any field of life'.
With his withdrawal from the 2023 Roland Garros, Nadal will lose also 2000 points that he earned at the tournament last year, bringing his total down from 2445 points to only 445 points. That will result in his exit from the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings.
Nadal entered the Elite 100 on April 21st, 2003 and he has never left it ever since. However, his withdrawal from the clay-court Grand Slam and an extended break from the ATP Tour means that he will miss almost all of his points and enter the 2024 season, most likely using his protected ranking.
After the 2023 Australian Open, the Spaniard will lose all of his ranking points, meaning that he will be unranked and normally, he wouldn't be able to join any tournaments. However, he will be able to use a protected ranking as he will be injured for over 12 months at that point in time.
Moreover, for the legend of the sport that Nadal is, it won't be a problem to enter any tournament as any tournament organizer will gladly provide him with a wild card. So even if the Top 100 exit is just a change in the number, it can also cause some very interesting moments.
In his farewell 2024 season, Nadal may be unseeded at the majority of the tournaments that he enters, creating a possibility of really interesting draws and first-round matches. If the Spaniard is unseeded, no one will be able to avoid him and possibly, we can see a first-round match at a Grand Slam tournament between two 22-time Grand Slam champion, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.
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