<!–
–>
Rafael Nadal finds himself a lowly 240 in the latest official ATP Rankings, but the Live Rankings tell a different tale as he is set for a massive slide over the next week.
The 22-time Grand Slam winner has played very little tennis in 2023 as he featured in only four matches at the beginning of the year before his season was effectively ended by a left hip flexor injury that required surgery in early June.
Having started the year at No 2 in the ATP Rankings, the Spaniard slipped out of the top 10 by mid-March and then he crashed out of the top 100 in June after he was unable to defend 2,000 points at Roland Garros.
Another big slide followed after the US Open as he dropped another 100 places and currently sits at No 40 with 255 points.
But worse is to come over the next few weeks as the Spaniard is unable to compete at the Paris Masters and the ATP Finals.
He will drop 210 points, which will see him plummet roughly 420 places in the rankings to an incredible No 660.
Nadal’s ranking positions in 2023
09 January – 2
20 March – 13
12 June – 136
11 September – 239
30 October – 240
06 November – 660 (projected)
The 37-year-old will start the 2024 season with only 45 points.
But Nadal is not the only Grand Slam winner who has slipped down the rankings due to injury as 2014 US Open winner Marin Cilic currently sits at No 606 and he is set to drop another 56 places this week.
Cilic will find himself two places below Nadal come next week with former Paris Masters champion Jack Sock sandwiched in between. Sock, though, has retired from tennis.
The former world No 3 has struggled with a knee injury and has played only three matches this year.
Cilic’s ranking positions in 2023
09 January – 18
20 March – 22
12 June – 65
11 September – 242
30 October – 606
06 November – 662
Kevin Anderson’s name also appears on the 601-700 page of the Live Rankings as he currently sits at No 620 with 53 points.
The two-time Grand Slam finalist, though, is making a comeback after retiring last year. He played three matches at the Halle of Fame Open and one at the Citi Open.
But ahead of the trio of Nadal, Cilic and Anderson in the Live Rankings is Kei Nishikori as the Japanese star currently sits at No 351.
The former US Open finalist has also been troubled with a hip problem in recent years and has played only three ATP Tour matches with the last one coming at the Atlanta Open in July.
He will drop another eight places in the next week but unlike Nadal and Cilic, the former world No 4 is making his way up again as he started 2023 with zero points.
Nishikori’s ranking positions in 2023
09 January – 0
20 March – 0
19 June – 492
11 September – 348
30 October – 351
06 November – 348
One player who has already dropped out of the rankings this year is Nick Kyrgios as the Australian has played only one match in 2023, which he lost in straight sets in June.
Kyrgios, who is set to return to action next year following a knee problem, has zero points but the good news is he has no points to defend in 2024.
READ MORE: Title streak ranking: Rafael Nadal’s incredible trophy record streak to end
<!–
–>