Teenager Jodar closing in on record for fastest rise to men's tennis top 10
Spain's 19-year-old Rafael Jodar reached the Canadian Open semi-final after beating Arthur Fils and now sits 11th in the live ATP rankings, one win from potentially breaking Boris Becker's 1985 record for fastest climb from the top 100 to the top 10.
Rafael Jodar, 19, is closing in on a piece of tennis history after reaching the semi-finals of the Canadian Open in Montreal with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 quarter-final win over France's Arthur Fils. The Spaniard now sits 11th in the live ATP rankings.
A win over American Brandon Nakashima in the semi-final would put Jodar into the top 10 outright, unless Ben Shelton also reaches the final, in which case Jodar would need to beat him too.
Chasing Becker's record
The record for the fastest rise from the top 100 to the top 10 belongs to Boris Becker, who did it in 210 days in 1985 at age 18. Should Jodar complete the feat in Montreal, he would do so in just 140 days. Even without a breakthrough this week, strong results at the upcoming Cincinnati Masters or the US Open would likely still be enough to set the new mark.
By comparison, Carlos Alcaraz took 336 days to make the same jump, Novak Djokovic took 623, both Rafael Nadal and Jannik Sinner took 735, and Roger Federer took 973. The equivalent women's record is 203 days, set by Jennifer Capriati in 1990 at age 14.
A breakout debut season
Beating Fils made Jodar the first teenager since Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2018 to reach the Montreal quarter-finals, and the first player born in 2006 or later to reach a Masters 1000 semi-final.
He already holds one tour title, won on clay at the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakech earlier this year. Jodar only turned full-time professional at the start of 2026, but his rookie season has drawn widespread attention: a maiden Grand Slam win at the Australian Open in January, a top-100 ranking on 30 March after reaching the Miami Open third round, and a top-50 spot by 20 April following a win over Australia's Alex de Minaur in Madrid.
He also reached back-to-back quarter-finals in Rome and Madrid, the Roland Garros quarter-finals in June, and the Wimbledon third round. Bookmakers now list him among the top eight favourites for the US Open. Known for his heavy topspin groundstrokes and fast serve, Jodar's aggressive style is often compared to world number one Sinner's, and with both Sinner and Alcaraz sidelined by injury, his rise could soon mark him as their biggest long-term rival.
