MADRID – In a sport where every player travels with an endless entourage—coaches, fitness trainers, doctors, physiotherapists, agents, and family members—the latest sensation in world tennis does things differently. He uses the “Tsitsipas Formula.” In Rafael Jódar’s player box, there is only one person: his father.
“We have a very good relationship. He knows me very well because he has been with me since I was very little. That connection helps us a lot during matches and allows us to approach them in the best possible way,” Jódar explains. “The team has always been just my father and I; for now, we haven’t changed it and we aren’t going to. It’s working, and I don’t see any reason to change.”
Rafael Jódar Sr. is his coach, his fitness trainer, his psychologist—his everything. With a degree in Physical Education, the elder Jódar has worked as a basketball coach and a PE teacher, and is now guiding his son’s career toward the summit of tennis. Unlike Apostolos Tsitsipas, however, he does so with immense calm: he barely moves during matches, does not gesture, and remains unfazed.
🫂El abrazo de Rafa Jódar con su padre tras su victoria en el #MMOPEN ante el checo Vít Kopriva.
📺En directo: programa resumen de la jornada en el Madrid Open, esta noche después de Estudio Estadio Champions en @teledeporte y @rtveplay pic.twitter.com/zKfa3EV66e
— Teledeporte (@teledeporte) April 28, 2026
Things are going well—exceptionally well. Jódar, a 19-year-old from Madrid belonging to the 2006 generation alongside Joao Fonseca, has skyrocketed from world No. 687 to No. 42 in just twelve months. In April 2025, he was receiving wildcards to play Challengers; by April 2026—specifically this Wednesday—he faced world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals of the Madrid Masters 1000, a match he lost 6-2, 7-6 (7-0). Jódar boasts a record of 12 victories, one title (the ATP 250 in Marrakech), and just two defeats in the last weeks.
“He hits the ball very cleanly, with very natural power. You can tell by the sound when he strikes the ball; a very good sound comes off his racket,” says Sinner about the man of the hour. “He has a lot of talent. He is going to be a great player in the future, and he is already proving it. I like his mentality; he’s quite calm. I don’t know him personally, but he seems very humble. I only wish him the best.”
Sinner has been keeping a close eye on Jódar these days in Madrid. He has been attentive to his training sessions and even went up to the stands of the Manolo Santana Stadium during Jódar’s second-round clash against Alex de Minaur. “I like watching young players live because there are certain things you can’t appreciate on television. In person, it’s completely different. He has a beautiful, very clean ball. He moves very well. He is a truly strong player. I don’t want to compare him to Joao or anyone else, but they are all incredible players with so much talent. So, I want to be close to see what might happen in the future.”
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Jódar’s explosion has been the primary topic of conversation at the Caja Mágica, where he has become the heavy favorite among local fans following Carlos Alcaraz’s withdrawal due to injury. “The surprising thing is that a 19-year-old can handle that pressure so easily. Rafa’s rise has been meteoric,” noted Feliciano López, co-director of the Madrid Masters 1000. “Normally, a tennis career is very different: you go from 1000 to 500, from 500 to 200, and from 200 you break into the Top 100. But you don’t go from 900 to 40 in eight months. Very few do that. Rafa did it, Alcaraz did it… players of that caliber,” added David Ferrer, captain of the Spanish Davis Cup team. “He is a player who has the conditions to be Top 10 for many years. Whether he wins big things or not, we’ll see. But he has the tools.”
“He is a great talent,” Stefanos Tsitsipas remarked recently. “He has a different style than Carlos Alcaraz; he seems a bit taller to me. I would say he is a mix between Zverev and Carlos. He has a bit more reach with his serve than Carlos. He can have a very interesting game in the future if he doesn’t lose his head along the way. I see him as capable of achieving great results.”
