Two 19-Year-Olds Reach French Open Quarterfinals After Stunning Runs
8 verified6 unconfirmed
Two teenage tennis players have reached the quarterfinals of the 2026 French Open at Roland-Garros. Brazil’s Joao Fonseca, 19, defeated 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in the third round, recovering from two sets down and serving three consecutive aces to close out the match. Spain’s Rafael Jodar, also 19, has climbed from outside the top 900 in the world rankings a year ago to reach the last eight in only his second Grand Slam appearance. Both players are in the bottom half of the draw and could meet in the semifinals. Top seed Jannik Sinner was eliminated early, and Carlos Alcaraz is absent from the tournament due to injury. World No. 3 Alexander Zverev is now considered the favorite to win the title. Fonseca’s next opponent is 20-year-old Czech Jakub Mensik, while Jodar faces Zverev in the quarterfinals.
What’s verified
Joao Fonseca defeated Novak Djokovic in the third round, coming back from two sets down and serving three consecutive aces to win.
Fonseca is 19 years old and from Brazil.
Fonseca’s next opponent in the quarterfinals is Jakub Mensik.
Fonseca defeated Andrey Rublev in the first round of the 2025 Australian Open, his Grand Slam debut.
Jannik Sinner was eliminated early from the tournament.
Carlos Alcaraz is absent from Roland-Garros due to injury.
Alexander Zverev is now the favorite to win the tournament.
Rafael Jodar is 19 years old and reached the quarterfinals.
Not yet confirmed
Whether Fonseca also defeated Casper Ruud earlier in the tournament, as reported by one source.
Details of Jodar’s ranking climb, college tennis background, and previous wins over Alex de Minaur and Joao Fonseca, all reported by only one source.
Whether Fonseca was a break point down before serving his three aces to close the match, reported by one source.
Fonseca’s ATP Tour titles at the Argentina Open and Swiss Indoors, reported by one source.
Whether Fonseca asked fans to calm down during his matches, reported by one source.
Djokovic’s last major win being in 2023, reported by one source.
Key figures
Joao Fonseca: 19-year-old Brazilian tennis player
Rafael Jodar: 19-year-old Spanish tennis player
Novak Djokovic: 24-time Grand Slam champion
Jakub Mensik: 20-year-old Czech tennis player, 26th seed
Alexander Zverev: world No. 3, tournament favorite
Jannik Sinner: world No. 1, four-time Grand Slam winner
Carlos Alcaraz: absent due to injury
Casper Ruud: tennis player
Andrey Rublev: top-10 player
Sources: Sky Sports, sbnation.com
