![\"Rafael](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/jodar-madrid-2026-media.jpg\")
<\/p>\n Player Features
\n The Jodar phenomenon arrives in Madrid: ‘I can’t say I could have imagined it’<\/p>\n
The Spanish wild card Jodar is a rapidly rising star on the ATP Tour<\/p>\n
April 20, 2026<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mutua Madrid Open<\/p>\n
Rafael Jodar is set to compete in Madrid for the first time.
\n By ATPTour.com\/es Staff<\/p>\n
Although he has never participated in the tournament before, Rafael Jodar<\/a> arrives as the undisputed star of the Mutua Madrid Open<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Spanish #NextGenATP player is attracting photographers, autograph hunters and all the media attention at the Caja Magica, where his rapid rise through the ATP Tour can no longer be ignored. The Madrid native will compete in his home city as one of the biggest attractions of 2026, having firmly established himself among the most promising names in the locker room.<\/p>\n \u201cI try to handle the pressure as I have done since I was little,\u201d explained Jodar, who as of Monday, is an official member of the world\u2019s Top 50, having climbed to No. 42 in the PIF ATP Rankings. \u201cI\u2019ve always been a very calm person both on and off the court. I know there\u2019ll be moments when things don\u2019t go as well as they have in recent tournaments. In those moments, you prove whether you\u2019re mentally strong. Those moments will also make me stronger\u201d.<\/p>\n You May Also Like: Jodar’s journey: Inspiration from Nadal, praise from Alcaraz & more<\/a><\/p>\n Jodar\u2019s story continues to reverberate in the tennis world with rare intensity. Just inside the Top 700 a year ago, the Spaniard has claimed three ATP Challenger Tour titles and ended the 2025 season competing in the Next Gen ATP Finals. Now, he has boosted his profile even more with a quick start to the clay season, capturing his first ATP Tour trophy in Marrakech and reaching the semi-finals at the ATP 500 event in Barcelona.<\/p>\n \u201cI knew I was doing things right. These last few months have gone very quickly for me and I\u2019ve played a lot of matches. I can\u2019t say I could have imagined it,\u201d he added. \u201cBut I\u2019m very happy to have started the clay swing like this, having played so many matches gives me a lot of confidence for this Madrid tournament. But I\u2019m aware the conditions are completely different to the two previous tournaments I\u2019ve played on this surface. I have to try to adapt as best I can.\u201d<\/p>\n Watch Highlights of Jodar winning first ATP title:<\/p>\n Jodar explained that he is feeling great, can\u2019t wait to begin the Mutua Madrid Open<\/a> and will \u201ctry to give my all\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a joy to play this tournament where I used to come as a spectator when I was young,\u201d Jodar said. \u201cTwo or three years ago I came as a sparring partner. I\u2019m really looking forward to getting started. There\u2019ll be lots of familiar faces coming to watch me. I\u2019ll try to do my best and enjoy myself.\u201d<\/p>\n Well aware of his new status, the Spaniard is embracing his new reality with an astonishing sense of normality. Calm, consistent and with a personality that suggests a will to build his career at a steady pace.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve never set myself a goal,\u201d Jodar explained. \u201cI have to take it tournament by tournament, it\u2019s my first year on Tour. I think I\u2019m still a young player and I\u2019m discovering a lot at these tournaments. I need to gain experience, compete against these kinds of players. I don\u2019t set targets for the future, just take it tournament by tournament and do my best\u201d.<\/p>\n Jodar\u2019s next challenge will be a clash with Dutchman Jesper de Jong<\/a>, in a draw where fifth seed Alex de Minaur<\/a> looms as his potential second-round opponent.<\/p>\n \u201cI have a lot of room for improvement in all areas,\u201d he admitted humbly. \u201cIf you want to compete against the best in the world you have to be a very well-rounded player on all surfaces. I have to keep up the consistency I\u2019ve shown these past months.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Player Features The Jodar phenomenon arrives in Madrid: ‘I can’t say I could have imagined it’ The Spanish…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":542805,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[101,118,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-542804","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tennis","8":"tag-sports","9":"tag-tennis","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=542804"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542804\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/542805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=542804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=542804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=542804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\u201cATP](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/atp-fantasy-article-banner.jpg\")
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