Carlos Alcaraz will miss the Madrid Open due to injury, and may even miss Roland Garros next month, but Spanish fans will have plenty of local talent to cheer this week and the next at the Caja Mágica: Roberto Bautista (in his farewell season), Jaume Munar, Martín Landaluce, Pablo Carreño, Alejandro Davidovich-Fokina (seeded for the second round)... but perhaps none as exciting for the fans as Rafael Jódar.
The 19-year-old, who in his maiden season at the ATP Tour has already won an ATP 250 title in Marrakech and reached semi-finals of the ATP 500 in Barcelona, is scheduled to play against Jesper de Jong on Wednesday. He has climbed 13 spots this week, and is now World No. 42. He was 895th in the world at the beginning of 2025, and 168th at the start of 2026.
Expectations are big on Jódar, seen as the new promise to follow Alcaraz at the elite of Spanish tennis, but he takes it easy. "I have to take it tournament by tournament, it's my first year on Tour. I think I'm still a young player and I'm discovering a lot at these tournaments", he told ATP.com. "I need to gain experience, compete against these kinds of players. I don't set targets for the future, just take it tournament by tournament and do my best".
Jódar is in the same path as Joao Fonseca, another standout 19-year-old
Jódar added that he needs to improve in all areas, including being a well-rounded player on all surfaces. If he beats De Jong, he could have a very tough opponent only in second round, Alex de Miñaur.
If he reaches the third round, he could face Joao Fonseca, another 19-year-old rising star, the first player born in 2006 to win an ATP tournament. Jódar was the second... if they face, it should be a very entertaining match, and surely the first of many encounters.