The future of Spanish tennis has another name: Rafa Jódar

Although Rafa Jodar He had already made a name for himself on the junior circuit during the 2023 season, when he won five titlesit was this year when it became known internationally thanks to the victory in this category achieved in the US Open. The man from Madrid, who is now 18 but last September, when he was champion in New York, he was still 17, defeated the Danish Nicolai Budkov Kjaer in the final, in an exciting match that was resolved in the third set super tiebreaker. Just before, he had triumphed in the J300 in College Park, as happened before being a quarterfinalist at Wimbledon, after winning another J300 in Roehampton.

For this career and for having become a new name to take into account in the future of Spanish tennis, AS honors him with the Promesa Award. “It is an honor to receive this recognition at the Diario AS Gala. This award represents all the effort and sacrifice I have put into the years I have been playing tennis. I feel more eager than ever to face the next step of the process that has only just begun. Thank you to all the people involved in this journey!says Rafa, who would have been at his namesake Nadal’s farewell on Tuesday if it had not been for the sprained ankle that prevented him from being Spain’s sparring partner again in Malaga, as he did in the group stage played in Valencia last month. September, with almost no break in continuity to his triumph in the Big Apple. “It has been an incredible experience for me. I am going to contribute everything I can to the team, both in training and off the track. There have been many emotions and experiences these last few days”he assessed then.

In mid-October, Jódar competed in the ITF Junior Finals as the number one seed and was going for the title, without having lost a set until a final. in which he was surprised by the Dutchman Mees Rottgering, whom he had defeated in the first phase.

“When I was six years old I joined the Chamartín Tennis Club, where I grew up. Many hours there training every day, every day of the week, a lot of sacrifice too”told AS Jódar, a great Real Madrid fan, who cites Jannik Sinner as a reference. “I identify with him, I see my game in his, all the shots he makes, how he moves, his physique… I try to apply it. Also the things I have to improve, obviously, because he is very good”. Although he recognizes that his idol, “since he was little, was Nadal,” and that now he pays a lot of attention to Carlos Alcaraz. “He is doing things very well and he is not only a good player, but he is also a good person”. Rafa could soon share tournaments with him.