![\"Rafael](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/jodar-top-100-march-2026.jpg\")
<\/p>\n Rafael Jodar
\n Inside Jodar\u2019s rapid rise to the Top 100: ‘He had a focus I had never seen before’<\/p>\n
University of Virginia head coach Andres Pedroso speaks to ATPTour.com on Spaniard’s journey<\/p>\n
March 30, 2026<\/p>\n
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ATP Tour<\/p>\n
Rafael Jodar, 19, is the second-youngest player in the Top 100.
\n By Sam Jacot<\/p>\n
Rafael Jodar<\/a> is the newest member of the Top 100.<\/p>\n The 19-year-old joined the elite group on Monday following a run to the third round at the Miami Open presented by Itau<\/a>, his latest success in what has been a whirlwind 12 months.<\/p>\n This time last year, the Spaniard was outside the Top 900 in the PIF ATP Rankings and still playing college tennis at the University of Virginia. Since then, he has surged up the rankings, winning three ATP Challenger titles in 2025 and earning tour-level wins at the Australian Open<\/a>, Miami, Acapulco, Dallas and Delray Beach in 2026.<\/p>\n Born in Madrid, Jodar began playing aged six and trained at the Club de Tenis Chamartin with countryman Martin Landaluce<\/a>, who last week advanced to the quarter-finals in Miami.<\/p>\n Fast forward to 2024 and Jodar enjoyed his biggest success yet in New York, where he won the US Open<\/a> boys\u2019 singles title. One of the most important chapters in Jodar\u2019s rise came the following year. In 2025, the Spaniard chose to play college tennis, a decision that has increasingly become a viable and successful route to the professional game.<\/p>\n Under the guidance of head coach Andres Pedroso<\/a> and assistant coaches Brian Rasmussen and Treat Huey<\/a>, Jodar thrived in a high-performance environment, earning ITA National Rookie of the Year honours and All-American recognition while continuing to sharpen his competitive identity.<\/p>\n Pedroso, who first encountered Jodar during his junior days, recalls immediately sensing something different about the Spaniard.<\/p>\n \u201cThe first time I saw him in person was at the junior US Open<\/a> qualifying \u2014 I believe in 2023 \u2014 and I was just blown away by his maturity, his professionalism, the seriousness that he competed with,\u201d Pedroso told ATPTour.com following Jodar\u2019s run in Miami. \u201cIt didn\u2019t look like a junior tennis player out there. It looked like a professional tennis player in terms of the way he competed.<\/p>\n \u201cSure, he hit the ball great, and he had size and was a really good ball striker. But what I was most impressed with was how mature of a competitor he was and what a winner he was.\u201d<\/p>\n That early impression led to recruitment, with Pedroso staying in touch before Jodar committed in spring 2024, months before lifting the US Open<\/a> boys\u2019 trophy. Central to Jodar\u2019s rise is a mindset that turns exposure into improvement.<\/p>\n \u201cHe has a remarkable ability of being exposed to higher and higher levels of play and taking what he learns from those matches and bringing it to the practice court along with his father, and really honing in on what he needs to improve in order to dominate that level,\u201d Pedroso said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a credit to him and his father in terms of how focused they are on what he needs to do to get better every time he loses against somebody that is at a higher level more consistently than him. They do a really good job of plugging in the holes of his game and his mentality when they face somebody that\u2019s better than him. It\u2019s a seriousness, a professionalism, a focus that they have on the practice court that I haven\u2019t seen from a young man at that age.\u201d<\/p>\n That approach stood out daily in Charlottesville. Pedroso would see Jodar’s mentality shift as soon as he walked on court.<\/p>\n “It was all business. It was something Brian and Treat also noticed,\u201d Pedroso said. \u201cI keep using the term seriousness. He gets the most out of every single second that he\u2019s on the court.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more about Jodar Another key moment came at the 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah, where Jodar attended as a hitting partner alongside players including Arthur Fils<\/a>, Jakub Mensik<\/a>, Joao Fonseca<\/a> and Learner Tien<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember when he came back from Next Gen, he was hitting the ball so big,\u201d Pedroso said. \u201cI said to myself, ‘He\u2019s hitting the ball so hard, I don\u2019t know if this is rational’. I remember speaking to his father, and he said one thing he learned there is that those guys are playing big, taking the ball early, playing very offensive tennis. He saw that and immediately started implementing it.\u201d<\/p>\n You May Also Like: US Open Boys’ champ Rafael Jodar taking lessons from Alcaraz, Landaluce<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\u201cATP\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1767418027_359_atp-no-1-club-banner-article.jpg\")
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The rise of Jodar: ‘He’s the most mature 19-year-old you’re going to meet’
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\nLandaluce & Jodar: From Madrid mates to Jeddah contenders<\/a><\/p>\n