Rafael Nadal won 50 consecutive sets on clay, setting the men’s record for consecutive sets won on a single surface. He achieved the run between May 2017 and May 2018, during another extraordinary period of clay-court dominance.
The streak reached 50 when Nadal defeated Diego Schwartzman in straight sets at the 2018 Madrid Open. That victory surpassed John McEnroe’s previous record of 49 consecutive sets won on carpet in 1984. Nadal’s run ended in the next round, when Dominic Thiem defeated him in straight sets.
This record is easy to confuse with Nadal’s 81-match clay-court winning streak from 2005 to 2007. The 81 figure counts matches; 50 counts individual sets, including sets won across many different matches. Nadal’s 50-set streak is also distinct from his 14 French Open titles, another record built largely on his unmatched success on clay.