Nadal, Alcaraz, & more: The 9 greatest Spanish male tennis players of the Open Era – ranked!
Rafael Nadal’s retirement at the Davis Cup brought the curtain down on one of the most remarkable careers in tennis history.
While he was the standard bearer for Spanish tennis for the best part of two decades, he is not the only player from his nation to make their mark.
Following Nadal’s emotional farewell from the sport, we’ve gone back through the Open Era to rank the nine greatest Spanish male players of the professional age.
9) Alex Corretja
Now one of the most prominent pundits in the sport, Corretja reached a career-high of world No 2 during his impressive playing career.
He is probably best remembered for his exploits at the French Open, where he was a beaten finalist in 1998 and 2001.
However, he won 17 ATP singles titles in total, including two Masters 1000 victories and an ATP Finals triumph in 1998 – the greatest success of his career.
8) Andres Gimeno
Gimeno holds a special place in tennis history as the oldest first-time singles Slam winner of the Open Era, winning the French Open as a 34-year-old in 1972.
That proved to be the only major of the Spaniard’s career but he was also the 1969 Australian Open runner-up and reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 1970.
Most of Gimeno’s career came before the Open Era, though he still won 11 tour titles and reached a further 13 finals in the professional age.
7) Sergi Bruguera
One of the greatest clay-courters of his generation, Bruguera is one of a select handful of men to successfully defend the title at Roland Garros.
The former world No 3 prevailed at the French Open for the first time in 1993 and retained his title in 1994, reaching a further final in 1997.
Bruguera was also an Olympic silver medallist, and won 14 ATP singles titles – reaching a further 21 finals.
6) Carlos Moya
The first Spanish player to reach world No 1 in the ATP singles rankings, Moya was one of the leading players of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
He is probably best remembered for his triumph at the 1998 French Open, though was also the 1997 Australian Open runner-up and a former semi-finalist at the US Open.
Moya won 20 ATP titles and achieved a further 24 runner-up finishes, winning three Masters 1000 titles across his career.
5) Juan Carlos Ferrero
Ferrero’s career was blighted by injuries, but that did not stop him reaching world No 1 and lifting the French Open title in 2003.
The Spaniard’s victory in Paris came just 12 months after he had finished as the runner-up at the event, while he was also a beaten finalist at the 2003 US Open.
Also an Australian Open semi-finalist and twice a Wimbledon quarter-finalist, Ferrero claimed 16 ATP singles titles in his career, including four at Masters 1000 level.
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4) David Ferrer
Though Ferrer did not win a major or reach world No 1, sustained success during his lengthy career marks him out as one of the greatest players the nation has ever produced.
The former world No 3 was the French Open runner-up in 2013 though was also twice a semi-finalist at the Australian Open and US Open, and a two-time quarter-finalist at Wimbledon.
Competing in the greatest era of men’s tennis, Ferrer reached 17 Grand Slam quarter-finals and also won 27 ATP Tour singles titles – the most of any man in the ATP era never to win a major.
3) Manuel Orantes
Spain’s most successful player of the Open Era, former world No 2 Orantes won an impressive 36 singles titles across a career that spanned the late 1960s to early 1980s.
Reaching a further 38 finals, Orantes famously stunned Jimmy Connors to lift the US Open title in 1975 and was also the runner-up at the French Open in 1974.
The Spaniard was also an ATP Finals champion and a former Wimbledon semi-finalist in his Hall of Fame-worthy career and made the Australian Open quarter-finals in his sole appearance down under.
2) Carlos Alcaraz
Alcaraz may only be 21, but he has already cemented his place as a modern-day great of the sport.
He became the youngest No 1 in ATP history following his maiden Grand Slam victory at the 2022 US Open and has gone on to add a French Open crown and two Wimbledon titles to his collection.
Alcaraz has already won 16 ATP singles titles – including five Masters 1000 titles – and will likely add to his trophy haul significantly in the coming years.
1) Rafael Nadal
Was there any doubt about who would be No 1 on this countdown?
Nadal is not just the greatest Spanish male tennis player in the Open Era, he is one of the greatest tennis players of all time – and one of Spain’s greatest-ever sports stars.
He is probably best recognised for his success on clay, lifting 14 French Open titles, and 63 ATP titles on the surface in total.
However, he was also a four-time US Open winner, twice a champion at Wimbledon and the Australian Open, and an Olympic champion in singles and doubles.
Nadal’s retirement has undoubtedly brought one of the all-time great sporting careers to an end.
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