Martin Landaluce has stunned his peers on the ATP Tour by reaching the Miami Open quarter-finals.
The world number 151, who came through qualifying, defeated Sebastian Korda 2-6, 7-6, 6-4 on Tuesday, securing his first appearance in the last eight of a Masters 1000 event.
Landaluce, who has advanced further than Carlos Alcaraz in Miami, is one of the lowest ranked players in tennis history to reach the Miami Open quarter-finals.
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After the match, Landaluce was interviewed on the Tennis Channel about his experiences training at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca.
Landaluce, from Madrid, Spain, revealed when he first practised with the Spanish tennis legend.
Martin Landaluce speaks about Rafael Nadal’s influence on his career
Landaluce first moved to Mallorca at the age of 14 to train at the esteemed Rafa Nadal Academy.
The Spaniard, known as ‘Tintin,’ revealed how he felt when first started to practise with Nadal at the academy.
“The first time I hit with Rafa, I was 14,” Landaluce told Steve Weissman on the Tennis Channel. “I was practising, I did a two hours practise, really good, okay. I go home.
“Then they told me ‘okay, now you practise with Rafa in clay.’
“It was such an emotive moment you know. I was pretty nervous at the beginning, but he was nice. He was nice with me and very nice practise.
“So since then we’ve done some, and I think I’ve improved things thanks to him, in some areas. My practise with grass was with him.
“He told me some tips to do better and yeah, practising at his academy is really nice – the values they’ve got there and practising with him, all the players they have… so it’s nice to practise there.
Martin Landaluce’s Miami Open run
- Qualifying Round One: defeated Mackenzie McDonald 6-3, 6-4
- Qualifying Round Two: defeated Thiago Agustin Tirante 3-6, 7-5, 6-4
- Round One: defeated Marco Giron 6-3, 7-6
- Round Two: defeated Luciano Darderi 6-3, 6-7, 6-4
- Round Three: defeated Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-6
- Round Four: defeated Sebastian Korda 2-6, 7-6, 6-4
“I did the preseason there also. Yeah, I think I get a lot of things from him and from his academy.”
When asked how often he now communicates with Nadal, Landaluce added: “Yeah sometimes. We spoke in Jeddah, he was there watching the Next Gen.
“We had a few words in the locker room. He told me about things to improve, and I took that very deep and I try to improve that.
“And I think that those things I improved were thanks to the words we had. So yeah, I’m very grateful and thankful with him.”
Landaluce is set to play Czech star Jiri Lehecka for a place in the Miami Open semi-finals. Their contest is scheduled to take place later on Wednesday.
Martin Landaluce set for huge payday
After reaching the quarter-finals in Miami, Landaluce is set to earn 200 ATP ranking points and $193,645 in prize money.
Consequently, Landaluce’s total career earnings are set to rise to $1,047,556.
Of course, the Spaniard could earn even more at the event. If he were to win the Miami Open, he would earn $1,151,380 in prize money.
2026 Miami Singles Prize Money [ATP Tour]
| Round | Points | Prize Money |
| Champion | 1000 | $1,151,380 |
| Finalist | 650 | $612,340 |
| Semi-finalist | 400 | $340,190 |
| Quarter-finalist | 200 | $193,645 |
| Fourth Round | 100 | $105,720 |
| Third Round | 50 | $61,865 |
| Second Round | 30 | $36,110 |
| First Round | 10 | $24,335 |
The Spaniard has also taken a big jump in the rankings. As per the ATP live rankings, the 19-year-old has already risen 48 places to world number 103 – a career-high ranking.
