In 2024 Rafael Nadal – the strongest left-handed player in the history of tennis – ended his career in the Davis Cup at the Malaga Finals, retired.
But what emerges from an analysis of the ATP ranking speaks clearly about a particular statistic: no left-handed player is currently present in the top-10 of world men’s tennis. And the presence of left-handed players in the top-100 is not particularly numerous.
The data, referring to the ATP ranking at the end of the year this week, speaks of 88 right-handed players in the top 100 in the world, compared to 12 players who hold the racket with the left hand.
But let’s review the only 12 left-handed players who are present in the elite of world tennis. As I said above, no left-handed player is present in the top ten of the world rankings. To find the first left-handed player, you have to get to number 14 ATP with the Frenchman Ugo Humbert. Not far behind at ATP number 15 is the British Jack Draper. Then follows the American Ben Shelton, now ranked at number 21.
Shelton© @atptour X account
Then there is the Chilean player Alejandro Tabilo, number 23 in the ranking. Then comes the British Cameron Norrie at number 49 in the world and Juncheng Shang at number 50.
Following outside the top 50 is Denis Shapovalov who is number 56, then the Frenchman Adrian Mannarino at number 66, the Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka at number 69. And two more French players: Corentin Moutet, number 70 in the world and Hugo Gaston at number 76. The last left-handed player present in the top 100 at the end of 2024 is the Argentine Facundo Diaz Acosta at number 79.
It is therefore a predominance of right-handed tennis players, who are clearly more than left-handed tennis players. It is also true that the greatest representative of this specialty has just given his farewell to tennis, and one wonders if in the near future there will be a left-handed champion who, like Rafa, will dominate tennis.
Among the strongest and most famous left-handed players in the history of men’s tennis, we should mention – in addition to Nadal, of course – John McEnroe, Rod Laver, Jimmy Connors, Guillermo Vilas and Thomas Muster.
Tennis World USA