League of their own: Rafael Nadal not the only athlete to win 11 titles

Here is a look at an elite group of other athletes with 11 or more titles in the same event:

Rafael Nadal won the first of his 11 French Open titles in 2005. Incredibly, he does not look finished yet. Yoan Valat / EPA

Bill Russell

The Boston Celtics centre won a record 11 NBA championships as the franchise dominated the league in the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s. Russell notably operated as player-coach during his final two title-winning seasons in 1968 and 1969. He was voted the NBA's Most Valuable Player five times and later inducted into the Hall of Fame. Teammate Sam Jones, drafted after Boston's 1957 triumph, teamed up with Russell to win 10 of those 11 titles.

Phil Taylor

Phil "The Power" Taylor is the undisputed greatest darts player in history with a record 16 world titles. He won the first of those in 1990 before sweeping to eight in a row between 1995 and 2002. Taylor has been instrumental in transforming darts into the force it is today. The Englishman retired from the sport after losing the 2018 final to Rob Cross.

Now Wales manager, if United really wanted him you'd imagine Ryan Giggs would step aside to take the reins at Old Trafford where he has already been caretaker manager and assistant manager. At some point United may try a younger, untested boss and Giggs would be welcomed by fans. AFP

Ryan Giggs

The Manchester United hero's career coincided with the club's most successful period in its history as the Welshman won a remarkable 13 Premier League titles. Giggs broke through as a teenager at Old Trafford, helping United end a 26-year wait as they claimed the 1992-93 league crown. He eventually retired in 2014, a year after United lifted the league trophy once more in Alex Ferguson's final season as manager.

Margaret Court

Court she remains the only player in history to win 10 or more titles at a single major - lifting the Australian Open a staggering 11 times between 1960 and 1973. Her 24 major titles is one more than Serena Williams's Open era record.

Reanne Evans

Evans won 11 women's world snooker titles in her career including 10 in a row from 2005 to 2014. She also recorded another landmark in 2017 when she defeated Finland's Robin Hull in the first round of qualifying for the men's world championship. She was beaten in the second round by Lee Walker. Evans was unable to attempt to qualify for the 2018 world championship as the women's event in 2017 was won by Hong Kong's Ng On Yee. Famously won the 2006 women's world title while seven months pregnant.

______________

Reads more:

WATCH: Del Potro says Nadal is almost unbeatable after French Open semis

Robin Soderling: Roger Federer has not thanked me for beating Rafael Nadal

______________

French Open final in pictures

ExpandAutoplay

Spain's Rafael Nadal plays a forehand return to Austria's Dominic Thiem during their French Open men's singles final in Paris. Christophe Simon / AFP