Rafael Jodar has taken the ATP Tour by storm since turning professional at the start of this year.
At the start of this year, Jodar chose to leave the University of Virginia’s tennis programme and instead fully focus on his ATP career.
Since then, the Spaniard has rocketed up the rankings and is now ranked 42nd on the ATP Tour.
Jodar won his first title in Marrakech earlier this month; and he has continued to perform at a high level in Madrid this week, beating Alex de Minaur and Joao Fonseca on his way to the quarter-finals.
Will Rafa Jodar win more Grand Slam titles than Joao Fonseca in his career?
With the level he is currently demonstrating Jodar seems destined to challenge Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner for the biggest ATP Tour prizes in the near future.
Kim Clijsters, the former WTA number one, has already identified the tactic Jodar uses that is also utilised by the world’s top two players.
Kim Clijsters says Rafael Jodar is looking to be ‘in charge of points’ like Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner
Clijsters, a four-time Grand Slam champion, discussed the Spaniard’s rapid development on the Love All Podcast with Blair Henley.
The Belgian star noted Jodar’s aggressive, first-strike tennis; comparing his style of play to that of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
“He really is looking to be the one in charge of the points, which I like,” Clijsters said.
“I think that’s the standard that the guys like Alcaraz and Sinner have set. You have to be the one in charge otherwise you are going to be running around and you don’t want to be the one on the defensive side against those types of players.
“It is really interesting to see this young up and coming player who has already taken on a tactic I feel that Sinner and Alcaraz have brought to the sport, that has been different to Roger and Rafa and Novak.
Rafael Jodar’s Madrid Open
- Round one: defeated Jesper de Jong 2-6, 7-5, 6-4
- Round two: defeated Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-1
- Round three: defeated Joao Fonseca 7-6, 4-6, 6-1
- Round four: defeated Vit Kopriva 7-5, 6-0
- Quarter-finals: Jannik Sinner
- Semi-finals: Arthur Fils / Jiri Lehecka
- Final: Alexander Zverev
“It’s really interesting how that way of playing tennis on the men’s side, you are now seeing in the next generation of players.
“It’s really, really nice to see that he is doing well and I am sure that Feliciano Lopez and Garbine Muguruza [Madrid Open Tournament Directors] are super happy with these results.”
Jodar will have the opportunity to further increase his standing in the game on Wednesday when he takes on Jannik Sinner in the Madrid Open quarter-finals.
If Jodar were to pull off the upset, he would play Arthur Fils or Jiri Lehecka in the semi-finals.
Rafael Jodar’s college coach was ‘blown away’
Andrea Pedroso, the head coach of the Virginia Cavaliers tennis team, coached Rafael Jodar while the Spaniard attended the University of Virginia.
Speaking to the ATP Tour in March, Pedroso admitted he was ‘blown away’ when he first watched the Spanish youngster play in junior US Open qualifying.
“The first time I saw him in person was at the junior US Open qualifying — I believe in 2023 — and I was just blown away by his maturity, his professionalism, the seriousness that he competed with,“ he said.
“It didn’t look like a junior tennis player out there. It looked like a professional tennis player in terms of the way he competed.”
Jodar is now coached by his father, who is also named Rafael Jodar.
