Who is better, Nadal or Laver?
Rafael Nadal leads with a GOAT score of 93.1 against 93.1 for Rod Laver — a gap of 0.0 points on GOAT Rank's weighted model.
AthletesTeams
Nadal vs Laver
Shareable comparison — send this exact matchup to anyone.
Quick answer
GOAT Rank currently scores Rafael Nadal and Rod Laver level at 93.1. Rafael Nadal leads on Dominance, Honours. Rod Laver leads on Statistics.
How the GOAT Score is calculated →GOAT verdictgoatrank.world
NadalWinner
93.1Nadal wins: Dominance, Honours
Laver
93.1Laver wins: Statistics
Time range
Showing full careers. Pick a window to recalculate the selected period.
Category radar
Verdict
Weighted GOAT score
🇪🇸 Rafael Nadal
93.1
Nadal leads in 4 of 5 weighted categories.
1. Rafael Nadal
2. Rod Laver
Category breakdown
Season form · Form index per season
Career timeline · Form index per season
Cumulative output season by season — the shape of each career against the other.
GOAT pace tracker
Through age 21 · Form index per season
1. 🇪🇸 Rafael Nadal23 titles
4 seasons by age 21 · 5.8 per season
Setting the pace at age 21
No verified birth date for Laver — shown in the pro-debut view instead.
Every career is cut at the season the athlete turned 21, so a rookie today is measured against exactly what a legend had banked by the same birthday.
| Metric | NadalRetired | LaverRetired |
|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam titles | 22 | 11 |
| Weeks at No. 1 | 209 | — |
| Masters 1000 titles | 36 | — |
| Career titles | 92 | 200 |
| Match win % | 83% | — |
| Year-end No. 1 finishes | 5 | — |
| Olympic gold | 2 | — |
| Calendar Grand Slams | — | 2 |
| Davis Cups | — | 5 |
| Year-end No. 1 | — | 7 |
| Match wins | — | 1,000 |
| Dominance w25% | 95 | 94 |
| Peak w20% | 95 | 95 |
| Longevity w20% | 90 | 90 |
| Honours w20% | 94 | 93 |
| Statistics w15% | 90 | 93 |
Fan vote — data vs the people
GOAT Rank · the data
Nadal93.1
Laver93.1
FAQ
Where does Laver beat Nadal?
Laver scores higher on statistics. Nadal leads on dominance, honours.
How is the Nadal vs Laver score calculated?
Both are scored on peak, dominance, honours, statistics, longevity within their sport. Nadal: 93.1, Laver: 93.1.
What do you think?
0 commentsMake your case for Nadal vs Laver. The scoring is published in full — if you can point at the pillar or the weight you disagree with, we read it. Read the methodology paper.