Rafael Nadal chooses between grass and hard courts as his second favorite surface after clay

With a staggering record 14 Roland Garros titles, Rafael Nadal's best surface was the clay court.

Rafael Nadal chooses between grass and hard courts as his second favorite surface after clay

Rafael Nadal (via YouTube)

Rafael Nadal recently appeared on the Served with Andy Roddick podcast. Amongst many topics that he discussed, the ‘King of Clay’ gave his preference for his second favorite surface—picking grass over hard court.

In the early stages of his career, there was much skepticism regarding Nadal’s potential to become a formidable contender on grass courts. However, his prowess on the turf was soon evident after he became the runner-up to Roger Federer in the Wimbledon finals in 2006 and 2007. He then went on to dethrone Federer in the 2008 Wimbledon final.

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The truth is, of course, my game adapts well naturally to the clay, but I love playing on fast court… I finished my career winning a couple of US Opens, but my second-best surface was grass. On grass I played the (Wimbledon) final in 2006, 2007, I won 2008, 2009 I was not able to play; I won in 2010, and I played the final in 2011. So I played without playing 2009; I played like five finals in a row.

Rafael Nadal via Served with Andy Roddick

Although an injury prevented Nadal from defending his Wimbledon title in 2009, his strong comeback saw him reach two more Wimbledon finals in 2010 and 2011. While he triumphed over Tomas Berdych in 2010, he subsequently lost to Novak Djokovic in the 2011 final. Apart from Grand Slams, Nadal has won two ATP titles on grass courts—Stuttgart Open 2015 and London/Queen’s Club 2008.

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Nick Kyrgios, who couldn’t agree more with Nadal’s remarks, went on X to express his admiration for the Spaniard’s game on grass. He tweeted that Nadal “on grass was ridiculous—lefty serve, great hands”. Though Kyrgios managed to defeat the 22-time Grand Slam champion in their 2014 Wimbledon showdown, Nadal emerged victorious in four sets when they met again five years later at the same venue.

The effect of Rafael Nadal’s injury on his grass court performance

Rafael Nadal spoke about how his knee injury restricted his performance on the grass court, particularly from 2012 to 2016. Once he recovered, Nadal started playing well on grass again, reaching the semifinals of Wimbledon in 2018 and 2019, where he lost to Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, respectively.

Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal (via X)

Then arrive a point that I was not able to play anymore on grass for a lot of years. It’s not like I forget playing on grass; it’s simply that my knees were not holding. I was not able to slow down… I was not able to play on grass. I needed to feel the control of my knees, and my knees were super bad. So after that, 2012, 13, 14, 15, 16 my knees were not good enough to play on grass. And then I recovered well from the knees, so then I started playing again well on grass- it was 17, 18, 19. So during this period of time, that was very important years of my tennis career, my body my knees didn’t allow to play on grass that’s the truth.

Rafael Nadal via Served with Andy Roddick

However, marred with hip and abdominal injuries in the twilight years of his career, Nadal decided to focus on one surface and played on clay mostly. He skipped Wimbledon in 2023 and 2024.

Rafael Nadal preferred to play against Novak Djokovic on grass than on hard courts

Rafael Nadal spoke about the process of transitioning to grass after a clay court season and the changes he had to make in his game and mindset. He emphasized the need to play very well from the baseline on grass when you have a big serve. On grass, Nadal particularly enjoyed the way he used the slice and his ability to pick up the next shot with his forehand and be aggressive.

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal (via X)

The shots that create damage on clay, on grass don’t create damage, so you need to approach the point in a different way, and it’s about learning how to play on grass and put in perspective… Honestly I prefer to play against Novak on grass than on hard courts.

Rafael Nadal via Served with Andy Roddick

Nadal also touched upon his rivalry with Novak Djokovic. He revealed that he preferred to play against the Serb on grass than on hard courts. The two have faced each other 4 times on grass court, with both having 2 victories against the other. Djokovic’s record against Nadal is a slender 31-29 in their 60 meetings on the court.