Rafael Jodar’s stunning rankings rise in three years from outside the top 1000 to world number 11

Rafael Jodar has just taken another giant leap in his very brief but hugely impressive career so far.

Jodar hit 40 wins for 2026 during his time at the Shanghai Masters, where he went on to reach the final. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina edged past Jodar in that final, narrowly overcoming his fellow Spaniard to claim the biggest title of his career.

But Jodar deserves huge praise for his run at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament, where he knocked out seeded trio Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud and Jiri Lehecka. The 20-year-old also defeated Thiago Agustin Tirante and Botic van de Zandschulp en route to the final.

He may have come up short against his compatriot, but Jodar has just climbed the rankings again following his fantastic run. It continues a stunning rise from the youngster, who is remarkably playing his first full season on the ATP Tour.

Rafael Jodar’s stunning ATP rankings rise

Jodar’s first official ranking arrived in mid-December 2023, when the Spanish prodigy was ranked number 1676. Two weeks later at the end of the year he was in 1751. Since then, he has been on a steep upward trajectory, ending 2024 in number 896, and 2025 in number 168.

In January of this year, Jodar entered the Australian Open as the world number 150, and less than 12 months later he is now just one place outside the top 10. After his superb run in Shanghai, the youngster has climbed two places in the ATP rankings to 11th.

It has been a meteoric rise from Jodar to say the least, with the rising star’s maiden title at Marrakech among his standout feats in the 2026 season. Among his many other highlights was his tremendous run at the French Open, where he reached the quarterfinals before losing to eventual champion Alexander Zverev.

His success arrives despite being in the shadow of fellow Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, with both players undoubtedly under pressure to follow in the legendary footsteps of Rafael Nadal. But they have each done a superb job so far, with Jodar amazingly nearing a place at the ATP Finals in his debut season.

The 20-year-old competed in the Next Gen ATP Finals in 2025, but now finds himself ninth in the Race to Turin. And given that Jannik Sinner won’t play again this season, that would be enough for a spot at the year-end tournament this time next month. He is, however, among a number of players set to battle it out for the remaining spots. Zverev, Alcaraz and Ben Shelton have already secured qualification, with five places still up for grabs.