As a result of Roger Federer’s victory over Novak Djokovic on Thursday in London, Rafael Nadal joins a quintet of players to have claimed the ATP’s year-end No.1 ranking five times or more.
At 33, Nadal is the oldest player to finish year-end No. 1 in the history of the ATP Rankings.
"I'm super happy," he said on court on Friday in London after receiving the trophy for year-end No.1. "Obviously after all the things that I went through in my career in terms of injuries, I never thought at the age of 33 and a half I will have this trophy in my hands again."
The Spaniard joins Pete Sampras (6), Federer (5), Djokovic (5) and Jimmy Connors (5).
“There was a lot riding on this match, I’m sure Rafa was watching too, and from that standpoint it was a magical night for me here at the 02, no doubt,” said Federer after his 6-4 6-3 victory ever Nadal.
Nadal can prolong his season and set up a semifinal with Federer if he defeats Stefanos Tsitsipas on Friday and Alexander Zverev falls to Daniil Medvedev.
Nadal’s year-end No.1 ranking means that a member of the ATP’s big four has finished the year at No.1 in each of the last 16 seasons.