The rise of Rafael Jodar: ‘He’s the most mature 19-year-old you’re going to meet’ | ATP Tour

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The rise of Rafael Hodahl: ‘He’s the most mature 19-year-old you’ll meet’

The 19-year-old Spaniard makes his first major appearance

January 21, 2026

Carlos Alcaraz lost to Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final last July. It was a tough defeat for the Spaniard, who showed optimism despite his disappointment.

“I went through different situations last year and learned from them,” Alcaraz said. “I’ve said it a few times now, okay, I’m just going to take whatever comes. Like, okay, I just lost in a Grand Slam final, but I’m very proud to be in the final.”

His discussion of acceptance caught the attention of Virginia head coach Andres Pedroso. Pedroso sent the video to his team, which includes #NextGenATP Spanish star Rafael Jodar.

“We believe that the best players in the world accept who they are, accept their style of play, they accept their strengths and weaknesses – especially their weaknesses – and they accept all the situations that happen in the game,” Pedroso said. “When you have a good acceptance of what’s going on and who you are, you’re fully engaged at the next point.”

Acceptance remains a key pillar of the Virginia program and has been supported by Jordahl. After qualifying for her first major main draw at the Australian Open, the teenager lost in two sets to 19-year-old Rei Sakamoto in the first round. That didn’t stop Jordahl from getting the job done against his Japanese opponent.

“I just tried to do my best, try to play my best that day, and like Coach Pedroso said, I just tried to accept everything that happened,” Jordahl told ATPTour.com after the game. “Some things are out of your control, but if you have the best mental toughness that day, you can give yourself a chance to win that day.”

Jordahl turned pro after just one year at UVA, but assistant coach Brian Rasmussen was in Australia with him, and he’s stayed in close contact with Pedroso. Both coaches were full of praise for the 2025 Next Generation ATP Finals players’ performance on and, more importantly, off the court.

^{Jordahl, Rafael Nadal and Martin Landalus at the 2025 Next Generation ATP Finals. Photo: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour}
“He’s the most mature 19-year-old you can meet. He really knows what he wants and that’s how he’s grown,” Pedroso said. “Just a very simple life, working hard, treating people right, doing the right things and just being an all-around good guy but completely focused on what he wants to do, which is his dream of becoming a world-class pro.”

The Spaniard came to Virginia as one of the most highly sought-after recruits in recent years, so much so that it’s unclear whether he will turn pro. Jordan, who had just won the U.S. Open men’s singles title, entered a new world in college.

“His transition to the United States was really difficult. He was an only child, he had lived in Spain his whole life, and when he came to Virginia, I’m not going to lie, his first few weeks were difficult because it was a different environment,” Pedroso recalled. “It’s a different language, you’re learning in English. College tennis is a completely different sport than junior tennis and professional tennis. He was able to settle in relatively quickly, and from the beginning, his first match was a little bit of a shock to him.”

The opponent in this match is the University of South Carolina’s Connor Thomson, an experienced player who has qualified for the ATP Next Generation Accelerator. With fans screaming in the stands, it became apparent that Jordahl was no longer playing junior tennis.

“College tennis is a completely different sport, a lot of yelling and screaming, a very busy environment, and Rafa is like a fish out of water,” Pedroso said. “He looked at me a few times during the game and said, ‘Coach, where am I? This is a different sport.’ The great thing about him was he ended up losing the game but we ended up winning and he was really happy for the team.”

It took little time for Jordahl to adjust. Despite suffering from cramps and ankle troubles, he made the first team, defeated the No. 1 player in the country, and became one of the best players in college tennis. But it wasn’t the tennis player that impressed those around him – Jordal’s performance spoke for itself – but his demeanor.

“Rafa’s father told me that every time he had a big win in a game, when he came back to Madrid, the first thing he asked his son to do was play with one of the really young kids at the club,” Pedroso said. “Rafa would go out and play with him, play with the kids, or just feed him the ball. That’s just a small example of his growth and the type of people the Jordal family is.”

Jordahl wasted no time in making his mark in 2026. He won 10 of his first 11 matches, reached the ATP Challenger Tour final in Canberra and is now into the second round after a thrilling five-set victory over Sakamoto in Melbourne. His mental toughness shines through.

“If we just stay where we are and do the right things mentally every point, their level will eventually drop back and our level will eventually go up,” Rasmussen said. “I think what makes Rafa so special is he knows he can do it in four, five hours because he’s proven it to himself time and time again, whether it’s back in Madrid with his dad or his 12 months at UVA.

“He challenges himself to really check every box and take care of the little details in life, whether it’s academically, socially or on the tennis court. I believe when you compound so many little details 24 hours a day, day in and day out, you get a lot of confidence and you know you can persevere.”

A year ago, the teenager was barely ranked in the world’s top 900, and now he is ranked 134th in the PIF ATP live rankings. Whatever happens when Jordahl takes on 16th-seeded Jakub Mencic on Thursday for a third-round berth, it’s safe to say the Spaniard will accept the outcome, learn from it and continue his rapid rise.

“I just want to enjoy every time I play tennis,” Jordahl said. “It was my first goal when I stepped on the pitch. It doesn’t change at all. I have to move on and start the season in the best way possible.”