Jódar wins at Roland Garros and inherits spotlight from Nadal in Spain

Carlos Alcaraz may have established himself as the "Prince of Clay" with consecutive titles at Roland Garros in the post-Rafael Nadal era, but the current champion's absence this year has left room for another young Spaniard to catch the eye in Paris.

Away from the Philippe Chatrier court, where Nadal built his legacy with 14 tournament titles, 19-year-old Rafael Jódar discreetly began his journey at Roland Garros this Monday (25) by beating Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-1, 6-0, 6-4 in the first round.

Just as Nadal did for almost two decades on Parisian clay, Jodar showed no mercy to his opponent and confirmed the expectations created around his name after a strong season on clay before the second Grand Slam of the year.

Continue lendo

27/05/2026

'The Murder of Roger Ackroyd', 100 years old: why was Agatha Christie's novel voted the best whodunit of all time?

The crime writer Agatha ChristieAlamyIn 2013, the British Crime Writers Association (CWA) met to choose, as part of it...

27/05/2026

Divers try to bring food to survivors trapped in cave in Laos: 'Getting them out won't be easy'

Watch the moment rescue team finds 5 of the missing in cave in LaosDivers taking part in the rescue of five survivors...

27/05/2026

'I thought he was having a stroke', says Joe Biden's wife, about her husband's performance in the debate with Trump in 2024

Former US President, Joe Biden, in a photo with his wife, Jill Biden, and the couple's cat, in an image released on Ma...

"I think I did things well from the beginning and I'm very happy to get my first victory in Paris," Jódar told reporters after the 94-minute match in his Roland Garros main draw debut.

"First games in tournaments are always difficult. So I needed to serve really well. I tried to play my tennis in the first two sets, and even when things got more complicated in the third set and I needed to save break points, I played well.

"When you play a match in the best of five sets, everything can fluctuate. You just need to face it as best you can."

Top Cifras

Toque agora.

1 Careless Whispers George Michael

2 N Disney Hercules No Importa La Distancia…

3 Contramao B Fachada

4 Spirit Bird Xavier Rudd

Just over a year ago, Jódar occupied position 903 in the world rankings. Last month, he entered the top 50 after winning his first ATP title, in Morocco, in addition to reaching the semifinals of the Barcelona Open. After that, he reached the quarterfinals in Madrid and Rome.

The results took the aggressive and energetic Spaniard to 29th place in the world rankings, but Jódar stated that he does not want to create exaggerated expectations at this time.

"I still have a lot to learn on the circuit", he declared. "It's only my first year and I've had a lot of experiences these last few months.

"These experiences are helping me a lot to evolve as a player and also as a person, because I'm learning a lot playing tournaments and preparing for matches.

"It's great to have the feeling of being able to compete at Roland Garros and all these tournaments. I'm so grateful to be a part of this."

Jódar's career
Jódar began training tennis at the age of six and attended the Club de Tenis Chamartin. In 2024-25, he decided to play college tennis in the United States and entered the University of Virginia.

The rapid growth made him choose to become a professional at the beginning of 2026, but the period in the United States brought important lessons.

"I learned a lot of things... maybe to be more mature", he said. "Living alone there was very important for my development and for learning to do things on my own.

"Of course there were coaches and teammates helping me adapt to the new culture and new things in the United States, but it was a new chapter, a new culture and, in fact, a new life.

"The way I faced those months was very useful for me. I think I matured a lot during my time at university."

Now, Jódar will continue his campaign at Roland Garros facing Australian James Duckworth.

Djokovic announces friend as new coach for Roland Garros

Source: CNN