17-year-old Moise Kouame makes Miami history, Rafael Jodar closes to top 100 | ATP Tour

next generation

17-year-old Kuame makes Miami history, Jordan is close to breaking through the top 100

Jordahl moves up 16 spots to 93rd in the PIF ATP Live Rankings and will next face Lucky Loser

March 19, 2026

Moise Kouame and Rafael Jodar both underlined the strength of tennis’s emerging generation at the Miami Open hosted by Itau on Thursday as they battled to claim their first ATP Masters 1000 match wins.

The 17-year-old Kuame, playing his first main draw match at this level as a wild card, used a clinical performance to beat qualifier Zachary Swajda 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. With the victory, the Frenchman became the youngest tournament winner in Miami history and the youngest ATP Masters 1000 winner since Rafael Nadal in Hamburg in 2003.

Remember his name! 👏@moisekouame09 Became the youngest player to win the ATP Masters 1000 event since Rafael Nadal in 2003!

He defeated Svajda 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.@miamiopen | #miamiopen pic.twitter.com/Whl7EmBNA6

— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 19, 2026

At 3-4 in the second set, Kuame was stuck at 0/40, but he took control by scoring 14 of the next 16 points to force a decider. The 6-foot-3 prodigy saved a total of 10 of 12 break points en route to victory in 2 hours and 17 minutes, according to Infosys ATP statistics.

Kouame is ranked at a career-high world ranking of No. 385, is the youngest player in the top 900 of the PIF ATP rankings, and has climbed to fourth in the next generation competition. Next up in Miami, he will look to extend his dream debut against 21st seed Jiri Lehecka.

Jordahl made sure the spotlight didn’t fade for young people. The 19-year-old Spaniard defeated qualifier Yannick Hanfmann 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 for his first Masters 1,000 victory and is on the verge of breaking into the top 100 for the first time.

The Madrid native has now risen to 93rd in the PIF ATP Live Rankings – a significant rise considering he was outside the top 900 just 12 months ago. At the end of last season, he won three ATP Challenger titles to qualify for the 20-and-under Next Generation ATP Finals.

After one year at the University of Virginia, Jordahl turned pro in January and his progress has accelerated since then. He qualified for his first tour-level main draw at the Australian Open, reaching the second round, and went on to win three ATP Tour events in Dallas, Acapulco and Delray Beach, where he defeated top seed Taylor Fritz in a tight match.

Now, Jordal has another chance in Miami: following the withdrawal of world number five Lorenzo Musetti, the part of his draw has begun, with lucky loser Aleksandar Vukic waiting in the second round for their first Lexus ATP Head2Head match.

Currently ahead of Joao Fonseca in the next generation event, Jordal is firmly on track to return to the next generation ATP finals and, like Kouame, is showing that the future of the sport is bright.