Carlos Alcaraz will be absent from the Madrid Open this week, but that is not to say there won’t be huge Spanish interest in events in the capital, especially if Martin Landaluce can source enough tickets for his relatives to join him inside the Caja Mágica. “We are a huge family, like 30 or 40 cousins, and many of them live in Madrid,” the 20-year-old grins. Landaluce’s smile carries fresh confidence, and no wonder: he has just entered the world’s top 100 for the first time.
Alcaraz is not yet 23, but the next generation of Spanish talent is already beginning to ride the seven-time grand slam champion’s wave. In this season’s rankings, there are seven players under the age of 21 in the world’s 100 and two of them are Spanish, in Landaluce and his younger friend and rival, the 19-year-old Rafael Jodar. Both are former US Open junior champions. Landaluce’s triumph came in 2022, on the same weekend as Alcaraz won his grand slam title in New York; Jodar then followed in 2023.
