Nadal finished the season as world No 1, ahed of Swiss star Federer.

The pair shared the four Grand Slams between them, with each taking two major honours for the year.

But Nadal came out on top in the ITF Awards on Friday by being named the best male player in the world.

And he was joined by compatriot Garbine Muguruza, who was named the best female player on the planet.

Muguruza edged world No 1 Simona Halep for the gong, due in large part because of her Wimbledon victory this summer.

The 24-year-old beat Venus Williams 7-5 6-0 on Centre Court to add to her French Open title from 2016.

Halep reached only the second Grand Slam final of her career this season, losing the French Open showdown to Jelena Ostapenko.

Andy Murray was named the world champion on the men’s tour in 2016, with Angelique Kerber taking the prize on the women’s tour.

It is the first time Nadal has earned the accolade since 2010, while Federer hasn’t been world champion since 2009.

It is also the first time in 19 years that the men and women winners of the ITF awards have been from the same country.

The last time that happened was back in 1998 when Americans Pete Sampras and Lindsay Davenport received the awards.

Lukasz Kubot of Poland and Marcelo Melo of Brazil won the men's doubles award while Chan Yun-Jan of Chinese Taipei and the recently-retired Martina Hingis of Switzerland took the women's prize.