Federer and Nadal’s biggest disagreement revealed after years

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While Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal spent plenty of time competing on the court, they managed to maintain a good relationship off it.

Together with Novak Djokovic, the pair were dominant forces in tennis for nearly 20 years. Federer finished his career with 20 Grand Slam titles, while Nadal reached 22.

They were generally on good terms and still are, but like any rivalry, there were moments where opinions clashed.

Jon Wertheim explains Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer’s main disagreement over rankings

Photo by Andy Cheung/Getty Images

Speaking on the latest episode of ‘Served with Andy Roddick‘, Jon Wertheim shed light on what he called the “biggest fight” between Federer and Nadal.

“The biggest fight I think [Roger] Federer and [Rafael] Nadal ever had, one of their few disputes, was when Rafa and his camp were trying to lobby for a two-year rolling ranking,” he said.

“Whether that was because of injuries or because there were additional points…”

Wertheim pointed out how the 52-week rolling ranking can often look odd to casual fans.

“It is a little confusing to the casual fan, seeing he got to the final, why would his ranking drop. And then sometimes you say, ‘That guy lost in the second round, how can his ranking go up?’

Nadal has more Grand Slams than Federer but spent less time at number one due to injury absences.

A two-year system might have helped level things out for him.

The current one-year format means even short-term injuries can quickly cost players their top rankings.

Sinner regained it after winning Monte Carlo in 2026 and now has a clear chance to extend his lead over Alcaraz, as he missed much of this part of last year’s season and thus has fewer points to defend.

What Nadal and Federer had to say about the ranking system

Nadal’s stance on the ranking system was clear when he spoke in 2017, as reported by ‘Express‘.

“I’ve said in the past it [the schedule] didn’t work, but it will be better to have a ranking for two years,” he said.

“Two-year ranking, not one-year ranking. That’s going to protect the players and help the players to have periods to find windows for rest.

“Having a one-year ranking, it’s always that if you want to be in a good position in the ranking, you cannot rest much.”

The year before, Federer gave his view during the 2011 ATP Finals.

“I’m not a big fan of it, just because I think it would make things rather boring, but that’s my personal opinion,” he said.

“Other than that, as president of the player council, I think it’s not a good thing for the lower-ranked players.

“It’s going to be a struggle for them to make a big breakthrough; it’s going to take them multiple breakthroughs so that dream of having one great tournament and making a move is never going to happen anymore.”

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