Two 19-Year-Olds Are Leading A Youth Movement (And Making Big Bucks) At Roland Garros

PARIS, FRANCE – MAY 31: Joao Fonseca of Brazil celebrates a point against Casper Ruud of Norway during the Men’s Singles Fourth Round match on Day Eight of the 2026 French Open at Roland Garros on May 31, 2026 in Paris, France. (Photo by James Fearn/Getty Images)

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Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic are out of the Roland Garros draw, but two 19-year-olds are leading a youth movement and capturing the imagination of the tennis world.

Joao Fonseca of Brazil, whose idol was Roger Federer, and Rafael Jodar of Spain, whose idol was Rafael Nadal, are both into the quarterfinals in Paris. They are just the fifth pair of teenagers to both reach the quarterfinals of a major in the last 40 years. The last teenage duo to do so was Alcaraz and Holger Rune at Roland Garros in 2022.

Along with 20-year-old Jakub Menšík of the Czech Republic, Fonseca and Jodar are in the bottom half of the draw, along with No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev.

Zverev is the favorite to win the tournament at 42%, according to Kalshi, while Fonseca is second (20%) and Jodar third (11%).

“It’s an electric foursome,” former Wimbledon semifinalist Sam Querrey said on TNT. “We have two 19-year-olds, a 20-year-old and then Zverev.

“For a tournament that lost Sinner and Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, that bottom section alone, that’s four great storylines alone.”

In the quarterfinals on Tuesday, No. 28 Fonseca will face No. 26 Mensik and Zverev will face No. 27 Jodar.

In addition to a chance at reaching the Final Four, big paydays are on the line.

French Open quarterfinalists make $545,550, while semifinalists earn $870,500.

The tournament runner-up takes home $1.625 million, and the champion $3.25 million.

Entering Roland Garros, Fonseca had earned about $656,000 in 2026, while Jodar made a little more than $1 million. Mensik was at $1.15 million.

“Holy Jodar, holy Fonseca,” Hall of Famer Jim Courier said on TNT. “We’ve got some youth coming through at the right time.”

Fonseca has been on the radar of the tennis community for some time, but he has broken through in Paris, beating 24-time champion Djokovic in the third round and then backing that up with a four-set win over two-time finalist Casper Ruud on Sunday, 7-5, 7-6(8), 5-7, 6-2.

“I feel tired,” Fonseca told Mats Wilander on court. “It’s always a first time for me, it’s a new experience. Getting through the to the second week of a Grand Slam is always tough. We try to just focus point by point and that’s what it is.”

He’s the first Brazilian man to reach the French Open quarterfinals since Gustavo Kuerten in 2004. “Guga,” a three-time Roland Garros, champion, was on hand to watch Fonseca beat Ruud.

“[He’s] an idol for our sport, for our country and for his charisma, for the way that he is, for how humble he is,” Fonseca said. “He was here for my first time as a junior at Roland Garros and it’s a pleasure to have him here…so I’m just very happy.”

Just as he did while taking out Djokovic despite falling behind by two sets, Fonseca showed an ability to mix up his game against Ruud, utilizing serve-and-volley, drop shots and the biggest forehand left in the tournament.

“I just try to be me on court, and try to be happy, try to hit winners, try to hit good shots, try to be entertainment,” he said. “I just try to be me and that’s what it is.”

The match featured a controversial call when Ruud had a set point in the second-set tiebreak. Fonseca’s forehand to the baseline was called good by the linesman, but Hawkeye showed that it was out. Roland Garros is the lone remaining major to utilize humans to call lines.

“Unless you’re standing on top of the mark, we can’t be sure out here,” former Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki said on TNT in defending the call.

Fonseca will next face Mensik, who took out No. 11 Andrey Rublev in five sets after dispatching No. 8 Alex de Minaur in four.

Mensik is the second-youngest Czech man to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal since Ivan Lendl at the 1980 U.S. Open.

Jodar, meantime, came from two sets down against 34-year-old Pablo Carreno Busta to win in five sets, 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.

He has played 14 sets in his first three matches and it remains to be seen how much gas is left in the tank when he meets Zverev.

Jodar, who was the 2024 U.S. Open junior champion and played college tennis at the University of Virginia, has seemingly come out of nowhere. A year ago, he was ranked No. 707 in the world and was a qualifier this year at the Australian Open, where he lost to Mensik in the second round.

“It’s great,” he said on TNT. “One year ago I was playing Challengers in the U.S. after my college season and now I’m in the quarterfinals of the French Open so I’m super grateful how the season is going for me.”

Jodar is coached by his father, also named Rafael. He doesn’t have a large entourage like many of today’s players. Instead, it’s just him and his dad on the practice court.

“My dad has always been my biggest support[er],” he said. “We started playing tennis because we wanted to spend time tougher. At 11, I was playing soccer and I decided to keep playing tennis and I think it was the right decision.”

Now he has a shot at the French Open semifinals, but will have to go through Zverev, the German who has a 42% chance to win the tournament, per Kalshi.

Zverev took out Jesper De Jong, 7-6(3), 6-4, 6-1 to reach his sixth straight Roland Garros quarterfinal and eighth overall.

The German faces huge pressure now to win his first major after going 0-3 in Slam finals until this point.

But to do so, he’ll have to go through Jodar and then potentially Fonseca or Mensik to reach the final.

“The youth moment was not there when we came on tour in 2007-2008,” John Isner said on TNT, adding that the average age on tour was 27.

“It’s completely different right now.”