Jaume Munar is back in the spotlight. The Spaniard, who turned 29 in May, is now No. 44 in the live ATP ranking with 1,225 points: the site's table shows him up 20 places from No. 64 in the previous reading.
The engine of the jump was the Japan Open in Tokyo, a 500 event on hard courts. Munar reached the semifinal and collected 200 points, the richest haul among the 2026 results listed on his profile: at Wimbledon, for instance, the third round was worth 100.
It all started against Taylor Fritz, now No. 12 with 2,830 points. In the third round Munar lost the first set in a tie-break, 6-7(7), then shifted gear and won 6-4 6-3. It was their second meeting: in 2022 at Indian Wells, a Masters 1000, Fritz won 6-4 2-6 7-6(2). The head-to-head is level again at 1-1.
In the round of 16 came a clean result against Jaime Faria: 6-1 6-1. In the quarterfinals Munar beat France's Kyrian Jacquet, now No. 76, 6-4 6-2. It was their first meeting, so the record stands at 1-0 for the Spaniard. Jacquet, in the tournament, had knocked out Holger Rune in the round of 16.
The semifinal brought Carlos Alcaraz, defending champion in Tokyo and world No. 3. Munar took the first set 7-5, then lost the second 3-6 and the third 1-6: Alcaraz won 5-7 6-3 6-1 and later lifted the trophy, beating Jiri Lehecka in the final. For Munar it is a fourth straight defeat against Alcaraz: the head-to-head reads 1-4. Before it came the round of 16 at Queen's 2025 (6-4 6-7(7) 7-5), then Barcelona and Rio in 2022.
For Alcaraz the tournament has a precise weight: the title is worth +500 and leaves him on 5,760 points. Jiri Lehecka, beaten in the final, is No. 14 with 2,540 points (+230).
Munar's only win over Alcaraz dates back to 2021, the semifinal of the Marbella 250: 7-6(4) 6-4. Five years later the script was different, but the first set taken in Tokyo shows the gap between the two, at least on a fast court, can be narrowed.
After Asia came Shanghai, a Masters 1000. Munar started in the second round but met Jenson Brooksby, who stopped him 7-5 6-4. A loss that costs some momentum, not ranking points: the site still shows +125 points for the Spaniard, who stays No. 44, ahead of Luca Van Assche (No. 45, 1,205 points) and behind Cameron Norrie (No. 43, 1,225: the same total).
The neighbouring positions show how crowded this part of the ranking is. Daniel Merida Aguilar, No. 42, has 1,235 points, just ten more than Munar; Adolfo Daniel Vallejo, No. 46, has 1,198. A quarterfinal at a 250 is enough to jump three or four names at once.
His career-high ranking, according to the site's history, is No. 43 on 20 July 2026. Munar is therefore one place from his best ranking: Tokyo has brought him within a step of the highest point of his career.
The record of recent years explains how hard the road has been. Between 2021 and 2025, at the Slams, Masters 1000, ATP 500 and 250 events tracked by the site, Munar played 160 matches and won 69, or 43%. Zero titles, a single final, in 2021.
2025 was the best season of the period: 31 wins and 26 losses, 54%. On hard courts 16-13, on clay 6-7, on grass 3-3, indoors 6-3. 2024 had been much tougher, 11-22, or 33%: which is why today's climb feels like a small rebirth.
The 2026 season is made of many middling rounds and a few highlights. At Wimbledon he reached the third round, as he did in Eastbourne and Gstaad; at the US Open he beat Terence Atmane in five sets, 6-7(5) 3-6 6-1 7-6(4) 7-5, then lost to Arthur Rinderknech, 7-6(4) 6-2 7-5. In Montreal he went out in the second round.
A clay-court parenthesis: at the Seville Challenger 125 he beat Oriol Roca Batalla and Raul Brancaccio, coming from behind against both, and stopped in the semifinal against Facundo Diaz Acosta (4-6 6-3 7-6(1)). That is 45 points that won't change his life, but they describe a player who leaves nothing on the table.
Recent form also says Munar is in good shape. Over the last 30 matches the record is 18 wins and 12 losses, a balance of +6; over the last 10 it is 6 wins and 4 defeats.
Below him the race is tight. Quentin Halys is No. 47 with 1,182 points, Mariano Navone No. 48 with 1,180, Zizou Bergs No. 49 with 1,170 (150 points fewer than in the previous ranking). The margin over his pursuers is a few dozen points, so every round won counts.
The calendar now demands precise sums. Over the next six weeks Munar has 225 points to defend: 200 from the semifinal at the 2025 Swiss Indoors in Basel and 25 from the second round at the Rolex Paris Masters. A year ago, in Shanghai, he had earned 100 points with a round of 16.
To consolidate his place in the top 50, and perhaps approach his best ranking, he will have to repeat himself on European indoor hard courts. The ingredients are there: the first week of October reminded everyone that, once he finds his rhythm, Munar is an awkward opponent for anyone, even one of the world's top three.
Test yourself
3 questions on what you have just read.
1. Who beat Munar in the Tokyo semifinal?
2. What is Munar's current live ATP ranking?
3. What was the score of Munar's quarterfinal win over Jacquet?