“The answer is maybe…,” John Isner explains why Rafael Nadal never won Miami Open in his career

Rafael Nadal had reached finals of the Miami Open five times between 2005 and 2017, losing all the matches.

“The answer is maybe…,” John Isner explains why Rafael Nadal never won Miami Open in his career

Rafael Nadal, John Isner (Image via X/Express US Sports, The Denver Post)

Rafael Nadal is the winner of 22 Grand Slam titles. He won two Wimbledon and Australian Open titles, four US Open, and a record 14 French Open trophies. But never in his career, he was successful at the Miami Open, losing all the five finals he played in the tournament.

Former players John Isner and Sam Querrey discussed why Nadal never won a Miami Open in the latest episode of the Nothing Major podcast. Querrey said that he just didn’t know why a player like Nadal could never claim the Miami Open. But Isner thinks Nadal was just unlucky in the ATP 1000 event in Florida.

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In 2005, he met Roger Federer in the final and lost in five sets. Then in 2008, Nikolay Davydenko was his opponent in the final. Novak Djokovic claimed his second Miami Open title in 2011 by getting the better of Nadal in the final.

It’s obviously, it’s tough, he’s done very well at Indian Wells before, we know that, and so just the back-to-back nature of those two events is very hard on his body, and definitely towards the last eight years of his career, hardcourts really weren’t his thing or playing a lot of matches on the hard court weren’t his thing. So a lot of years he never played Miami, but he has made some finals there.

John Isner said on the Nothing Major podcast

The Serb, after defending his crown in 2012, again defeated the Spaniard in the final in 2014. Nadal progressed to the Miami Open final for the last time in 2017 and was defeated by the Swiss maestro.

For me, the answer is just maybe a bit unlucky. I don’t think it’s conditions-based…he was like the guy was like there weren’t any conditions that affected him, I just think a little unlucky.

John Isner added

Rafael Nadal penned message for Alexandra Eala after her victory over Iga Swiatek

Alexandra Eala scripted history at the Miami Open. She became the first player from the Philippines to reach a WTA 1000 semifinal for the first time. In the quarterfinals, she met five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek, whom she beat in straight sets to achieve the biggest win of her career. She became the third wild card to progress to the Miami Open semifinals after Justine Henin (2010) and Victoria Azarenka (2018).

Alexandra Eala Rafael Nadal
Alexandra Eala and Rafael Nadal (image via Instagram @rafanadalacademy)

Eala is a graduate of the Rafa Nadal Academy. So when the 19-year-old clinched the win against the 2022 Miami Open champion, Rafael Nadal took to his X to send a heartwarming message to the teenager.

We are extremely proud of you, Alex. What an incredible tournament! Let’s keep dreaming!

Rafael Nadal wrote on X

Check out his post here:

She played that match in front of Nadal’s uncle and former coach Toni Nadal. En route to the semifinals, Eala also beat 2025 Australian Open champion Madison Keys. Eala’s dream campaign was ended by fourth seed Jessica Pegula in the semifinals.

Rafael Nadal retired at the 2024 Davis Cup

Rafael Nadal suffered from a career-threatening hip injury at the 2023 Australian Open and could never make a proper comeback. He returned to tennis in Brisbane the following year but another injury forced him to stay on the sidelines.

Rafael Nadal TikTok
Rafael Nadal (image via TikTok)

The 38-year-old then played in the Barcelona Open and a few more clay-court events. He played the last ATP singles tournament of his career at the Swedish Open where he also reached the final and lost to Nuno Borges.

After playing at the Paris Olympics, he signed up for the Davis Cup Finals with Spain and played the quarterfinal tie against the Netherlands. Spain lost the match and Nadal too fell to Botic van de Zandschulp in the singles match.