Nineteen-year-old Spaniard will be seeded at a major tournament for the first time in Paris

Rafael Jodar has made thunderous waves on the ATP Tour in recent months, but the rising 19-year-old could be poised for another major leap at Roland Garros.

After winning his first ATP Tour title in Marrakech in April and reaching back-to-back ATP Masters 1000 quarter-finals in Madrid and Rome, Jodar has climbed to a career-high No. 29 in the PIF ATP Rankings. Just 12 months ago, the Spaniard sat outside the world’s Top 700, underlining the remarkable speed of his rise.

And there may still be plenty more to come. In his first season on the ATP Tour, Jodar will head to Paris with a major opportunity to continue his rapid climb and push even higher in the PIF ATP Rankings.

With a 15-3 tour-level record on clay in 2026, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index — a run that includes his first Top 10 victory against Alex de Minaur — Jodar arrives at Roland Garros full of confidence for his debut at the clay-court major. The Spaniard begins his campaign against Aleksandar Kovacevic and could meet seventh seed Taylor Fritz in the third round.

During the same stretch of the season last year, Jodar was competing in ATP Challenger events in Little Rock and Tyler, collecting just six PIF ATP Rankings points. Now, the 6’3” talent heads to Paris with the chance to keep building on his breakthrough with every victory he earns.

 

Watch Sinner vs. Jodar Highlights:

Jodar, 19, is already the youngest player in the Top 100 of the PIF ATP Rankings, with World No. 30 Joao Fonseca, also 19, the only other teen in the Top 100. Fonseca is defending 100 points in Paris after reaching the third round last year.

But they are not the only notable players with opportunities to surge over the coming fortnight. Three players in the Top 10 of the PIF ATP Live Rankings — No. 6 Felix Auger-Aliassime, No. 8 Daniil Medvedev and No. 9 Taylor Fritz — all lost in the first round at Roland Garros one year ago and are only defending 10 points. No. 7 Alex de Minaur, who fell in the second round, is only defending 50 points.

That gives the highly ranked stars an opportunity to push higher in the Top 10 with a deep run at the season's second major. Right now, only 740 points separate No. 4 Novak Djokovic and No. 9 Fritz in the PIF ATP Rankings.

That will change significantly when 2025 Roland Garros points come off. Once that happens, Auger-Aliassime will be live No. 4 and Djokovic will be live No. 9, just 380 points behind him. Because of that small gap, there will be plenty of jockeying for position on the terre battue.

Another player to watch will be Casper Ruud, the in-form Norwegian who just made the Rome final. In the past four editions of Roland Garros, the No. 16 player in the PIF ATP Live Rankings has twice made the final and once advanced to the semi-finals. But last year, he fell in the second round, giving him a chance to make a move towards a Top-10 return.

The second major of the season begins Sunday in Paris.