The 2021 Rafael Nadal tennis season officially began on 9 February 2021, with the start of the Australian Open.
Rafael Nadal was scheduled to begin his season at the ATP Cup. However, despite being on the Spanish team, he did not play any matches due to minor back issues.
At the 2021 Australian Open, Nadal lost in the quarterfinals to Stefanos Tsitsipas, despite being two sets to love up. This marked only the second time Nadal has lost a grand slam match after being two sets up. It was overall the third time he lost from 2 sets up, the others happened at the US Open 2015 to Fabio Fognini, and Miami 2005 to Roger Federer in the final when Masters finals were best of 5.
Indian Wells Masters was scheduled to take place in March 2021 but was postponed due to coronavirus concerns.
Nadal withdrew from the Miami Open.
Nadal won his first two matches losing a total of just 5 games in both combined, but then lost to Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals in three sets.
Nadal saved a match point to defeat Stefanos Tsitsipas, in 3 hours and 38 minutes, the longest final since 1991 (when records began). This was his record-extending 12th title at the event.
Nadal lost to Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals.
Nadal saved two match points to defeat Denis Shapovalov. He then beat Alexander Zverev and Reilly Opelka to reach the final, where he defeated longtime rival Novak Djokovic in three sets.
At the French Open, Nadal entered as the heavy favorite seeking to become the first man to win 21 majors. He reached the semifinals after wins over Jannik Sinner and Diego Schwartzman, where he encountered Novak Djokovic in a rematch of the previous year's final. There, Nadal was upset by eventual champion Djokovic in four sets, in only his third-ever loss at the French Open.
Nadal withdrew from both Wimbledon and the Olympics, citing schedule reasons.
Nadal made his Washington debut in 2021. He faced Jack Sock in his opener, his first match since losing to Novak Djokovic at the French Open. Nadal recovered from a break down in the third set, prevailing in a final set tiebreak. He lost in the round of 16 to Lloyd Harris in three sets.
Following more injury problems, Nadal withdrew from Toronto and Cincinnati, and, on August 20, ended his season, citing his ongoing foot injury as the main issue.
This table chronicles all the matches of Rafael Nadal in 2021.
Per Rafael Nadal, this is his current 2021 schedule (subject to change). The ATP rankings are currently affected by the COVID-19 pandemic; they are on a Best of 24-month basis through the week of 15 March 2021. Until then, all the events are non-mandatory and players can use the best result from the same event in that 24-month span.
Rafael Nadal has a ATP match winâÂÂloss record in the 2021 season. His record against players who were part of the ATP rankings Top Ten at the time of their meetings is . Bold indicates player was ranked top 10 at the time of at least one meeting. The following list is ordered by number of wins:
(**) signifies tournaments where Nadal won the title after saving at least one match point.
<small> Figures in United States dollars (USD) unless noted. </small>