BARCELONA – Just a week ago, Rafael Jódar was celebrating his first ATP title in Marrakech at only 19 years old. Imagine the scene: Spanish, named Rafa, and claiming his first crown on clay before turning 20. But there’s more: leaping from 911th in the world rankings to 57th in just one year. It is no surprise, then, that this kid’s name is being heard more and more often in the locker room.
“I understand that players have to do these kinds of things, and in the end, I adapt to what needs to be done,” Jódar said this Saturday with calmness and politeness during a press conference at the ATP 500 in Barcelona. “I think I’ll gradually discover these types of tournaments and the things that come with them,” the player added regarding sitting in front of journalists to answer questions.
Invited by the Conde de Godó organizers with a wildcard, Jódar accepts that his daily life is changing. An autograph here. A photo there. The trappings of success. The important thing, he says, is to keep his feet firmly on the ground: ensuring that success and fame do not change him. His recipe is very conventional: leaning on his family and his inner circle.
“For example, I don’t work with any psychologist. I believe it comes more as a result of the conversations I have with my family and my parents. That is what determines who I am and the values they have given me since I was very young,” the tennis player explained before delivering a phrase that sounds like a promise, a declaration of intent: “I’m not going to change because of what I achieve or don’t achieve. In the end, I’m always going to be the same person, just as humble. I am someone who loves tennis very much and, thanks to tennis, I am living very good experiences.”
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He applies that same philosophy when asked about the future and his goals. If a year ago he was ranked nearly 1000th in the ATP rankings and now he is touching the top 50 while already knowing what it’s like to win an ATP title, why not keep dreaming?
“Neither at the beginning of the season nor when I started this first year as a professional did I set a goal. I believe that just because I won an ATP title now, there’s no need to set new goals. Things will come little by little, and what I want is to keep improving in every tournament, facing new rivals, and developing across all three surfaces,” assured the player who won the 2024 Junior US Open.
Of the same generation as Brazil’s Joao Fonseca and Norway’s Nicolai Budkov Kjaer, the Spaniard spent the 2025 season in the U.S. college circuit—a stint that ended after he won his first main draw Grand Slam match in Australia this past January. Since then, Jódar has been figuring out how to fit the pieces of the puzzle together. And so far, the formula giving him success is more than simple: his father.
“The team for now is just my father and me,” Jódar explained. “He advises me very well. We are forming a team that I feel very comfortable with. He is helping me a lot.”
Jódar will make his debut at the ATP 500 in Barcelona against his compatriot Jaume Munar, currently world number 37. Regardless of the outcome, after the Godó tournament, he will pack his bags to head to the Mutua Madrid Open.
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