Rafael Jódar joins the top-10 club and is now the 21st Spaniard to achieve it
The young man from Madrid will officially be part of the top-10 of the ATP ranking this Monday, November 2. We review which other Spanish tennis players have achieved this and the records of precocity broken by Jódar.
Rafael Jódar has achieved a significant milestone in the professional career of any tennis player, having played at the professional level for less than a year. The monster from Leganés becomes the third youngest Spanish tennis player in history to enter the top-10 of the ATP ranking and the 21st to achieve this feat.
For months now, there have been no more adjectives to describe what Rafael Jódar is doing. The story of triumphant precocity that the young man from Madrid is writing in golden letters will be remembered for a long time, especially after his entry into the top-10 of the ATP ranking is confirmed.
The official ranking on this coming Monday, November 2, should be treasured by all lovers of this sport, as it not only brings Spanish tennis back to having two players in that select club but could also be the starting point for a glorious success story from Rafael Jódar.
Jódar, the third youngest Spanish tennis player in history to break into the top-10 of the ATP ranking
Spain has one of the most golden historical records as a country in the history of tennis, so achieving records like the one accomplished by the young man from Madrid is of great merit. There have been numerous tennis players among the 10 best in the world, but only two made it into this elite club at a younger age than Rafael Jódar.
Only Rafael Nadal (18 years, 10 months, and 22 days) and Carlos Alcaraz (18 years, 11 months, and 20 days) managed to be top-10 at a younger age than Jódar, who will achieve this at 20 years, 1 month, and 16 days. This serves as a clear warning of the potential of a player with room to continue progressing, already a part of the golden history of Spanish tennis.
Perhaps what is most impressive is not the age itself, which is also notable, but the short time Jódar has needed to get into the top 10 in the world. Evidence of this is that he has become the second tennis player of all time with the fewest days elapsed between his arrival in the top-100 and becoming one of the top 10. Boris Becker is the only one ahead of him.
📊 Rafael Jodar 🇪🇸 va faire son entrée dans le Top 10 lundi, seulement 217 jours après avoir découvert le Top 100. Un seul joueur a fait mieux : 🥇 Boris Becker 🇩🇪 : 210 jours 🥈 Rafael Jodar 🇪🇸 : 217 jours 🆕 🥉 Mikael Pernfors 🇸🇪 : 224 jours 4⃣ Mats Wilander 🇸🇪 : 231 jours 5⃣ Carlos Costa 🇪🇸 : 252 jours 6⃣ Holger Rune 🇩🇰 : 294 jours 7⃣ Juan Aguilera 🇪🇸 : 301 jours 7⃣ Aaron Krickstein 🇺🇸 : 301 jours 9⃣ Carlos Alcaraz 🇪🇸 : 336 jours 🔟 Gustavo Kuerten 🇧🇷 : 343 jours
— Jeu, Set et Maths (@JeuSetMaths) October 31, 2026
Spanish tennis players who have been top-10
| Tennis Player | Date of Birth | First Entry into the Top-10 | Age at Entry | Best Historical Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manuel Orantes | 06/02/1949 | 23/08/1973 | 24 years, 6 months, and 17 days | No. 2 |
| José Higueras | 01/03/1953 | 21/05/1979 | 26 years, 2 months, and 20 days | No. 6 |
| Juan Aguilera | 22/03/1962 | 06/08/1984 | 22 years, 4 months, and 15 days | No. 7 |
| Emilio Sánchez Vicario | 29/05/1965 | 09/04/1990 | 24 years, 10 months, and 11 days | No. 7 |
| Sergi Bruguera | 16/01/1971 | 29/04/1991 | 20 years, 3 months, and 13 days | No. 3 |
| Carlos Costa | 22/04/1968 | 18/05/1992 | 24 years and 26 days | No. 10 |
| Alberto Berasategui | 28/06/1973 | 25/07/1994 | 21 years and 27 days | No. 7 |
| Carlos Moyá | 27/08/1976 | 27/01/1997 | 20 years and 5 months | No. 1 |
| Albert Costa | 25/06/1975 | 21/04/1997 | 21 years, 9 months, and 27 days | No. 6 |
| Àlex Corretja | 11/04/1974 | 19/05/1997 | 23 years, 1 month, and 8 days | No. 2 |
| Félix Mantilla | 08/09/1974 | 08/06/1998 | 23 years and 9 months | No. 10 |
| Juan Carlos Ferrero | 12/02/1980 | 16/04/2001 | 21 years, 2 months, and 4 days | No. 1 |
| Rafael Nadal | 03/06/1986 | 25/04/2005 | 18 years, 10 months, and 22 days | No. 1 |
| David Ferrer | 02/04/1982 | 30/01/2006 | 23 years, 9 months, and 28 days | No. 3 |
| Tommy Robredo | 01/05/1982 | 08/05/2006 | 24 years and 7 days | No. 5 |
| Fernando Verdasco | 15/11/1983 | 02/02/2009 | 25 years, 2 months, and 18 days | No. 7 |
| Nicolás Almagro | 21/08/1985 | 25/04/2011 | 25 years, 8 months, and 4 days | No. 9 |
| Pablo Carreño Busta | 12/07/1991 | 11/09/2017 | 26 years, 1 month, and 30 days | No. 10 |
| Roberto Bautista Agut | 14/04/1988 | 19/08/2019 | 31 years, 4 months, and 5 days | No. 9 |
| Carlos Alcaraz | 05/05/2003 | 25/04/2022 | 18 years, 11 months, and 20 days | No. 1 |
| Rafael Jódar | 17/09/2006 | 02/11/2026 | 20 years, 1 month, and 16 days | No. 10 |
The table above constitutes one of the great treasures of Spanish tennis, serving as irrefutable proof of its historical prowess. Seeing a new name added to the list, such as Rafael Jódar, ignites the hopes of all fans, aware of the merit it entails to have achieved this so soon and the high ceiling he has in his career.
For now, of the 21 tennis players who are already part of this list, 4 reached number 1 in the ATP ranking. It will be interesting to see how far Rafael Jódar can go as he continues to grow in tennis every week, facing the challenge next season of establishing himself in the world top-10 and continuing to climb the rankings.
This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Rafael Jódar se une al club de los top-10 y ya es el 21º español en lograrlo