Rafael Nadal becomes first-ever tennis player to hit 21 million followers on Instagram, extends gap to Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic & Roger Federer

Rafael Nadal became the first tennis player to cross the 21 million followers mark on Instagram —a platform he joined back in 2015.

Nadal returned to the tour in January 2024 after a nearly year-long hiatus due to a hip injury. The former World No. 1 participated at the Brisbane International, where he secured a straight-set victory against Dominic Thiem in the first round.

The 37-year-old holds the top spot on the list of tennis players with the most Instagram followers, followed by second-placed Serena Williams with 17.2 million followers. Novak Djokovic sits in third place with 14.4 million followers, followed by Roger Federer in fourth (12.1 million followers).

One of Nadal's most recent viral posts was his picture with Roger Federer, who visited the Spaniard's tennis academy in Mallorca, Spain, last month. Another post that went viral was his recent selfie with Djokovic, which was taken as they were en route to the United States for their Sunshine Doubles campaign.

Both posts amassed over a million likes and thousands of comments, although the latter was originally posted by the Serb in collaboration with Nadal.

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Rafael Nadal to resume his 2024 season at the Indian Wells

The Spaniard at the 2024 Brisbane International

Rafael Nadal is set to resume his 2024 season at the Indian Wells Masters, which starts on March 6.

The former World No. 1, who has been sidelined for most of 2023 and the start of 2024 due to injuries, has had a difficult comeback this season. He suffered a hip issue during his quarterfinal defeat to Jordan Thompson at the Brisbane International. The injury later forced him to withdraw from the Australian Open and the Qatar Open.

Nadal is now slated to play in the 'Netflix Slam', a live exhibition event where he will face compatriot Carlos Alcaraz in Las Vegas on March 3.

"I’m very excited for my first visit to Las Vegas," the Spaniard told Netflix. "I’m also very excited to be playing with my fellow countryman Carlos Alcaraz. I am sure it will be a fantastic night of tennis."

The 37-year-old will then participate in the Indian Wells Masters, where he has won three times before (2007, 2009, and 2013). Additionally, the Spaniard reached the final twice, in 2011 and 2022, where he lost to Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz, respectively.

The Spaniard also exited the event in the last four on six occasions (2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2016, and 2019), where he lost to players such as James Blake, Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Ivan Ljubicic.