A strong group of ATP players has reached the same conclusion: Rafael Jodar is the leading young name in men’s tennis right now.

The Spaniard started the 2025 season at No. 895 while still at the University of Virginia. By the close of the year, the 19-year-old had climbed to No. 168, decided to turn professional, and set off on an even steeper rise in 2026.

That progress has been extraordinary. Earlier this month, Jodar moved to a career-high of No. 11, and he remains in position to challenge Boris Becker’s record for the fastest climb from the top 100 into the top 10.

His form has also placed him ninth in the ATP Tour Race, with a place at the ATP Finals in Turin later this year looking increasingly plausible. Among players 21 and under, only Learner Tien, Jakub Mensik, and Joao Fonseca are anywhere near him in the NextGen conversation.

With the US Open approaching, Jodar is aiming for another deep run after reaching the French Open quarter-finals earlier this year. Several established players have already pointed to him as the breakout candidate for Flushing Meadows.

Matteo Berrettini told ATP Tour, “I feel like there are so many young guys that are so good already; they are stars already.

“The first name that comes to mind is Jodar. He’s top 20 in the world. So he’s not really a rising star; he is a star already.”

Alex De Minaur also selected Jodar, while Casper Ruud named the Spaniard or Tien. Karen Khachanov added, “Jodar. I think everybody’s now speaking about him. Really fast development and progress over the last four, five months.”

The praise has not stopped there. Toni said, “I am liking Rafael Jodar a lot because of what I have seen. It seems to me that it is the best of the new generation,” and later added that he does not see him in the same class as Carlos Alcaraz, but believes he can trouble the best players in the world.

Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic have been placed on the same side of the 2026 US Open draw, and both begin with testing opening rounds in New York.

Alcaraz returns to competitive singles for the first time since sustaining a wrist injury at the Barcelona Open in mid-April, with the Spaniard back at Flushing Meadows as the defending champion. His opening opponent is Roman Safiullin, a player who holds a 1-1 head-to-head record with the 23-year-old.

With world No 1 Jannik Sinner absent because of a knee injury, French Open Alexander Zverev is the top seed. Alcaraz, the second seed, sits in the opposite half, while Felix Auger-Aliassime is seeded third in Zverev’s section. Djokovic, meanwhile, could again meet Alcaraz in the semi-finals, just as he did last year.

The top names also face difficult early tests. Zverev opens against Lorenzo Sonego, Auger-Aliassime starts against Rinky Hijikata, and Djokovic meets Mariano Navone, who is ranked 49th at the time of writing after being listed as the former world No 29.

There are several other notable first-round matches. Stan Wawrinka, who is soon to retire, faces Matteo Berrettini, and the winner could run into Djokovic in round two. Marin Cilic begins against 23rd seed Andrey Rublev, Arthur Fils meets Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Rafael Jodar opens against Thanasi Kokkinakis.

The projected paths also underline how open the draw may be. Djokovic’s possible route includes Stan Wawrinka, Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Brandon Nakashima and Daniil Medvedev before a semi-final with Alcaraz and a final against Zverev. Alcaraz’s projected path features Jenson Brooksby, Matteo Arnaldi, Alexander Bublik and Arthur Fils before that potential meeting with Djokovic.

Zverev’s and Auger-Aliassime’s possible routes also point toward difficult finishes, with Alex De Minaur appearing in both halves of their projected paths.

Concern is rising over Casper Ruud’s US Open prospects after video surfaced of the Norwegian looking uncomfortable during a practice hit.

The 27-year-old’s build-up to the final major of the year has already been interrupted. He suffered an early defeat in Canada and later withdrew from Cincinnati because of injury. In his opening match at that final Masters 1000 event before Flushing Meadows, Ruud lost the first set to Christopher O’Connell, then took a medical timeout. The back problem affecting him did not ease, and the former US Open finalist retired while 2-1 ahead in the second set.

There had been some signs that the issue might have settled after he teamed up with Diana Shnaider in the mixed-doubles event earlier this week. The pair reached the quarter-finals before losing to Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev.

Ruud’s own social media post on Wednesday also suggested he was ready to turn his focus to singles. He thanked the Russian for a “fun event”, while looking ahead to the main draw.

Later that day, though, footage emerged of him appearing to struggle while hitting with Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry. On social media, prominent tennis presence, @AnnaK-4ever, said Ruud ended the session more than an hour early, that he “couldn’t serve” and that even the groundstrokes caused him “considerable pain”.

This has been a difficult season by his standards. Ruud is 25-16 in 2026 and has slipped to No 20 in the rankings. His best campaign came in 2022, when he won 51 matches, lost 22 times and finished third in the world. He ended 2023 at No 11, moved up to No 6 in 2024, and was No 12 at the close of 2025 with a 71% win rate. In 2026, that figure has fallen to 61%.

With 20 players already withdrawing from the US Open due to injury, Ruud’s latest setback has only added to the uncertainty. If he does not pull out, he may still be limited in New York.