Rafael Jódar

Biography

Rafael Jodar was born on September 17, 2006, in Madrid, Spain. He plays right-handed with a two-handed backhand and stands 191 centimeters tall. He picked up a racket at the age of four and began his career at the Chamartin Tennis Club in Madrid. Jodar particularly shone in junior tennis in 2024: he won the US Open juniors, beating Norway's Nikolai Budkov Kjaer in the final, claimed titles at the J300 events in Roehampton and College Park, reached the quarterfinals of the Wimbledon juniors in both singles and doubles, and made it to the fourth round of the French Open juniors. By the end of the season, he had climbed to fourth in the world junior rankings and reached the final of the ITF Junior Finals in Chengdu. In 2025, Jodar combined his studies with playing for the University of Virginia in the NCAA. In his debut season, he won 19 of his 22 singles matches, finished the year fourth in the college rankings, and was named ITA National Freshman of the Year as well as ACC Freshman of the Year. At the same time, the Spaniard began gaining experience in professional tennis: in 2025, he won three Challenger titles, in Hersonissos, Lincoln, and Charlottesville, and claimed his first win over a top-100 opponent at the ATP Next Gen Finals. Jodar began his professional season in 2026. He made his Grand Slam main-draw debut at the Australian Open, where he reached the second round, and advanced to the quarterfinals at the French Open. In March, the Spaniard won his first ATP title in Marrakech, starting the tournament from qualifying, before reaching the semifinals in Barcelona and the quarterfinals of the Masters 1000 events in Madrid and Rome. In Madrid, he recorded his first win over a top-10 opponent, defeating Alex de Minaur, before losing to Jannik Sinner. In August, Jodar reached the final in Washington. As of August 10, 2026, his career-high ranking stood at No. 11 in the ATP rankings. The Spaniard's record includes one ATP title, three Challenger titles, and one ATP final; at the junior level, his crowning achievement remains his victory at the 2024 US Open.

Recent matches