It is not surprising that a young boy who grows up in the capital of Spain was idolized Madrid Rafael Nadal. What makes it even more appropriate is that he shares the same first name as the former world No. 1.
Rafael Jodar, born in September 2006, when Nadal already had two major titles, comes up as one to look at the ATP Challenger Tour.
The past 12 months of Jodar have breakthrough victories and memorable moments on and next to the field. He won the 2024 US Open Boys’ Singles Crown, which he labeled: “One of the best weeks of my life”. Last month, – a year away from his Flushing Meadows Triumph – De Spaniard won his first ATP Challenger Tour title. Beyond the trophies, Jodar enjoyed a dream-back-meeting with Nadal in December.
“I was with the next Gen ATP Finals [as a hitting partner]And he was there. I had the chance to meet him and we had a conversation for 10, 15 minutes and he congratulated me with the US Open, “Jodar told Atptour.com.” When I met him and he knew I won the US open, so I realized that he knew about the Spanish players and how they do it. So he is very interested in those players and it was great to talk to him. ”
Nadal retired last November, a month before crossing paths with Jodar in Jeddah. In an illustrious career, Nadal 92 gathered 92 titles at tour level and spoke apparently unassailable records, including winning 14 Roland Garros trophies. Jodar is looking up to the inheritance of his countryman with admiration.
“It is inspiring to look back and see all the things that he has not only done for tennis, but for Spanish sports in general. From my point of view we consider Rafa Nadal to be one of the best Spanish athletes of all time,” Jodar said. “And that is insane, all the achievements he has done is impressive.”
Rafael Jodar wins the US Open Boys’ Singles title 2024. Credit: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
Jodar was born and raised in Madrid and took a racket at the age of four and played with six in Club de Tenis Chamartín. When he was 12 years old, he left football behind to concentrate solely on tennis.
The only child of two teachers, Jodar was a regular participant at the ATP Masters 1000 event in his hometown. He likes to witness himself of two epic battles in the Caja Mágica: Nick Kyrgios’ 2015 upset by Roger Federer and Grigor Dimitrov’s three hours of triumph over Novak Djokovic in a 2013 thriller.
“I remember looking at the Center Court that match and it was one of the best matches I’ve ever watched live,” said Jodar about the Clash Dimitrov-Djokovic. “I was very young, so I don’t know how I remember that game, but that impressed me.
“I had so much pleasure to go to the tournament. I remember that we had tickets for certain days and I was super excited to go those days.”
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Now a second-year student at the University of Virginia, Jodar juggles this semester with five classes while participating in university and professional tournaments. As a first-year student at UvA, he made an immediate impact and earned ITA National Rookie of the Year Honors and All-American status.
“I had two options immediately after my junior career, go pro or go to university. I took the option to go to university because I think Virginia is a great place to develop as a tennis player,” Jodar said. “You are surrounded by good people, good coaches, a culture that helps you develop a lot.”
Jodar is in second place in the Singles rankings in the ITA preseason, only behind reigning NCAA champion Michael Zheng. Thanks to his first -year success, Jodar qualified for the ATP Next Gen accelerator, a program that wants to increase the development path for top players in the American collegial system to earn direct access to selected challengers events.
“I think it’s great to give young players opportunities to develop faster in the pro circuit,” said Jodar. “ATP does an excellent job to give those players more opportunities, so that they can get points early in their career and they can go into the ranking and reach better tournaments. I am super happy that I have already been able to play eight or nine challengers this year.”
During last month’s Hersonissos Challenger in Greece, Jodar went all the way to the title in what his ninth outing was at that level. Jodar is celebrating its 19th birthday this week and only starts.
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