Rafael Jodar breaks into Top 50 on ATP rankings just three weeks after Top 100 debut

On this day a year ago, he was ranked No. 686.

Today, he’s No. 42.

Spanish teenager Rafael Jodar continues his meteoric rise up the ATP rankings today, jumping from No. 55 to No. 42—his Top 50 debut—after reaching his first ATP 500 semifinal in Barcelona.

He only just broke into the Top 100 three weeks ago, rising from No. 109 to No. 89 after reaching the third round of Miami as a qualifier. Two weeks ago, having never even been to an ATP quarterfinal beforehand, he went all the way to the first ATP title of his career in Marrakech, which put him within striking distance of the Top 50, propelling him from No. 89 to No. 57.

After extending his winning streak to eight matches in a row with his run in Barcelona, even winning 13 sets in a row at one point, today the 19-year-old Madrid native cracks the Top 50.

He's now the youngest player in the ATP Top 50, or even the ATP Top 100, roughly one month younger than another big-hitting 19-year-old, Joao Fonseca, who’s currently ranked No. 31.

There are other notable debuts on the ATP rankings, including Frenchman Corentin Moutet moving up from No. 31 to No. 30, his Top 30 debut, after reaching the second round in Barcelona.

And 20-year-old Spaniard Martin Landaluce, who made a breakthrough run to the first ATP quarterfinal of his career—at a Masters 1000 event, no less—in Miami a few weeks ago, makes his Top 100 debut, rising from No. 101 to No. 99. He got within striking distance of the elite after Miami, soaring from No. 151 to No. 106, and despite falling first round in Barcelona last week, he inches over the line after a few other players dip down.

The winners and runners-up at last week’s two ATP 500 events all make inroads on the rankings, albeit no breakthroughs.

Ben Shelton, who won Munich, stays at No. 6, but he goes from trailing current No. 5 Felix Auger-Aliassime by 200 points (4,100 to 3,900) to just 30 points (4,100 to 4,070). The Munich runner-up, Flavio Cobolli, rises from No. 16 back to his career-high of No. 13.

Arthur Fils, who won Barcelona, rises from No. 30 to No. 25, his highest ranking since last September. He’s been as high as No. 14. And the player he beat in the final, former No. 5 Andrey Rublev, rises from No. 15 to No. 12, his highest ranking since last August.

Meanwhile, over on the WTA rankings, Elena Rybakina stays at No. 2 after winning the WTA 500 title in Stuttgart, while Marta Kostyuk, a former No. 16, moves back up five spots from No. 28 to No. 23 after capturing the WTA 250 title in Rouen.

Perhaps the most notable move among the women comes from the player Kostyuk beat in the Rouen final, fellow Ukrainian Veronika Podrez. The 19-year-old, who qualified for the first WTA main draw of her career and then made it all the way to her first WTA final, soars from No. 209 to No. 147 for her Top 200 debut.