Get courtside to watch this group of youngsters ready to rock Roland-Garros
Breaking into the top tier and establishing yourself in the upper echelons is becoming increasingly difficult in tennis.
It takes something truly unique or a special talent to do so - not to mention years of hard work and dedication.
We chose a fearless squad of the sport's rising stars who should be on your radar once main draw action gets under way in Paris.
This time last year, Madrid native Rafael Jodar was ranked No.707 in the world and competing in the US on the ATP Challenger Tour. Since then, the teenage sensation has blazed into the ATP's top 30 and will be seeded in Paris.
The 19-year-old, who completed just a single semester at the University of Virginia before turning pro in late 2025, clearly relishes the big stages.
Already this year he’s qualified for the Australian Open, made the Miami Open third round as a qualifier, just prior to picking up a maiden ATP title in Marrakech on clay.
And remarkably the wins kept coming.
Jodar stormed into the ATP 500 Barcelona semi-finals and on home courts in Madrid defeated No.8 seed Alex de Minaur and Joao Fonseca to meet Jannik Sinner in the last eight. Jodar pushed the world No.1 in a 6-2, 7-6(0) meeting during which he held seven break points against the top-ranked Italian. The Spaniard arrives in Paris off the back of another Masters 1000 quarter-final in Rome.
Cries of 'Vamos Rafa!' will be ringing around Roland-Garros once more.
Twelve months ago, the Canadian teenager earned a Grand Slam debut in Paris through qualifying en route to reaching the last 32.
The 19-year-old – who has recently begun working with renowned coach Wim Fissette – truly shot to prominence with a WTA 1000 title run on home courts in Montreal. A second title arrived in Hong Kong and Mboko hasn't looked back. Already ranked No.9 in the world, she will take some stopping on the terre battue.
Just like Jodar, Belgium’s Alexander Blockx was tearing it up on the ATP Challenger Tour as key preparation for a big breakout.
Dedicated fans will remember Blockx was crowned the Australian Open 2023 boys’ champion.
A booming serve and forehand and off the charts defensive skills have helped the world No.36 star at the clay Masters 1000 events this campaign.
Top 20 victories over Felix Auger-Aliassime, Flavio Cobolli and Casper Ruud have catapulted Blockx into the Monte-Carlo third round, the Madrid semi-finals as well as third round in Rome.
American prodigy Iva Jovic posted a single victory on her Roland-Garros debut last summer. This time round, the 18-year-old is surely destined for a much longer stay in Porte d’Auteuil.
Rewind to January and Jovic collected a maiden top 10 win over Jasmine Paolini to mark a milestone major at the Australian Open. She became the youngest American woman to reach the singles quarter-finals in Melbourne since a certain Venus Williams in 1998.
Jovic was eventually stopped by world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka, but this versatile top-20 teenager is a threat to any opponent on any surface.
A player who counts the Rafael Nadal Academy as a training base, clay is set to provide a happy hunting ground for Martin Landaluce.
Having grown up at the same Madrid tennis club as Rafael Jodar, the Spaniard showed his potential on the hard courts of the Miami Masters in April with a compelling run from qualifying all the way to the quarter-finals.
Across to the red dirt in the Eternal City, Landaluce lit it up once again without dropping a single set in three Rome Masters main draw matches. Former world No.1 Daniil Medvedev only just managed to defy the 20-year-old 7-5 in a decider in the last eight.
Reigning Roland-Garros girls’ champion Lilli Tagger has plenty of all-star support. Not only has the Austrian got a graceful and highly effective game (go see her one-handed backhand), Tagger can tap into the know-how of two major champions.
The 18-year-old, gearing up for her Grand Slam debut in Paris, calls upon coach and Italian Roland-Garros 2010 champion Francesca Schiavone for expert guidance.
Added to that, Tagger has been skiing with friend and fellow Tyrolean Jannik Sinner and has been able to confide in and quiz the four-time Grand Slam champion about life at the peak of the tennis mountain.
Serbian talisman Novak Djokovic famously helped fund the early development of compatriot Hamad Medjedovic and that investment is starting to pay off.
Last month the 22-year-old dispatched No.3 seed Alex De Minaur on the path to the Barcelona quarter-finals. Prior to Paris, Medjedovic then outlasted Joao Fonseca in a rowdy three-set thriller at the Foro Italico in Rome.
He’s fiery, has a cannonball serve and groundstrokes, and he loves to involve the crowd during some of his big-time battles.
Can the world No.56 improve on his RG 2025 third round ticket? Current form would suggest he can.
Another player with a link to Roland-Garros’ King of Clay Rafael Nadal, Philippines trailblazer Alexandra Eala counts the 22-time major winner as a mentor at his academy in Mallorca.
The 20-year-old left-hander sweeps the ball with some eye-catching shot making and has troubled the very best on the WTA Tour.
Take her trip to Dubai this season. The 6-1, 7-6(5) scoreboard against No.6 seed Paolini set the tone as Eala was only denied in the quarter-finals by Coco Gauff.
Buoyed by passionate Philippine support from the stands wherever she plays, Eala and her fans could provide a memorable show in Paris.
ROLAND-GARROS
18 May - 7 June 2026
