{"id":1955398,"date":"2026-05-26T07:30:39","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T04:30:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1955398"},"modified":"2026-05-26T07:30:39","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T04:30:39","slug":"spanish-teenager-described-as-the-real-deal-by-tennis-great-he-has-a-big-chance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1955398","title":{"rendered":"Spanish teenager described as &#8216;the real deal&#8217; by tennis great &#8211; &#8216;He has a big chance&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"ps-article-content rounded-lg lg:mt-5 lg:border lg:border-card lg:bg-card lg:shadow-primary\">\n<header>\n<h1 class=\"py-4 text-xl font-normal text-title sm:text-2xl\">Spanish teenager described as \u2018the real deal\u2019 by tennis great \u2013 \u2018He has a big chance\u2019<\/h1>\n<div class=\"my-2 flex items-center justify-between\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/author\/shahidaj\" class=\"text-sm font-normal !text-author\"><br \/>\n                            Shahida Jacobs                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <time class=\"ml-3 text-sm font-normal text-info md:ml-4\" datetime=\"26 May 2026 8:30 AM\" data-ps-date=\"26 May 2026 8:30 AM\" data-ps-datetime=\"1779780639\"><br \/>\n                            26 May 2026 8:30 AM                        <\/time>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"hidden justify-end space-x-4 text-xl sm:flex sm:!opacity-100\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_dark.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on 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flipboard\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"sm:hidden flex items-center space-x-5\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_dark.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 dark:hidden h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_light.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <button id=\"t365-article-share-btn-hidden\" class=\"mr-2 hidden h-6 w-6 appearance-none border-none !text-share-icon outline-none hover:!text-share-icon-active sm:hidden\" data-title=\"Spanish teenager described as \u2018the real deal\u2019 by tennis great \u2013 \u2018He has a big chance\u2019\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/button>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5 border-b border-page\"><\/div>\n<section>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5\">\n<figure class=\"aspect-h-9 aspect-w-16 relative\">\n                                        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1320\" height=\"742\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"w-full h-full object-cover object-center !my-0\" src=\"https:\/\/d2me2qg8dfiw8u.cloudfront.net\/content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Rafael-Jodar-with-inset-of-Max-Wilander-1320x742.jpg\" alt=\"Pictured: Rafael Jodar with inset of Max Wilander\">                <\/figure><figcaption class=\"flex items-center space-x-3 border-b border-mobile-caption px-3 lg:border-caption\">\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-1.5 break-words !text-xs !text-content\">\n                                Rafael Jodar with inset of Max Wilander                            <\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<div class=\"ciam-article-t365\"><!-- Article Start --><\/p>\n<p>Rafael Jodar is the name on everyone\u2019s lips with the Spanish teenager described as the \u201cnew Rafa Nadal\u201d and praised for his \u201cbrilliant\u201d attitude.<\/p>\n<p>Twelve months ago, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/atp-tour\/who-is-rafael-jodar-spains-new-rafa-atp-rankings-milestone-big-upset\">Jodar<\/a> was sitting at No 707 in the ATP Rankings and playing on the ATP Challenger Tour. Fast forward to 2026 and he finds himself at No 29 in the rankings and in the second round of the French Open.<\/p>\n<p>Needless to say, his rise has been phenomenal with most of his success coming this year as he started the season at No 168 and only made his Grand Slam debut at the Australian Open.<\/p>\n<p>The 19-year-old broke into the top 100 after reaching the third round of the Miami Open before his maiden ATP Tour singles title at the Grand Prix Hassan II in Morocco helped him to surge into the top 60.<\/p>\n<p>His success story continued at the Barcelona Open as he reached the semi-final, while he made the quarter-final at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/andy-roddick-comments-rafael-jodar-rise\">Madrid Open<\/a> and Italian to crack the top 30 and secure a seeding at the French Open.<\/p>\n<h2>ATP News<\/h2>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/jannik-sinner-advises-carlos-alcaraz-what-to-do-about-his-wrist-injury\">Jannik Sinner has advice for Carlos Alcaraz about his wrist injury<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/roger-federer-and-rafael-nadal-send-messages-to-stan-wawrinka-as-he-plays-his-last-ever-roland-garros-match\">Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal send messages to Stan Wawrinka as he plays his last-ever Roland Garros match<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>And he started his Roland Garros campaign with a blistering 6-1, 6-0, 6-4 win over Aleksandar Kovacevic, leading to tennis great and TNT Sports analyst Mats Wilander waxing lyrical as he feels the Spaniard is now ahead of fellow teen <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/joao-fonseca\">Joao Fonseca<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s unbelievably good,\u201d the former world No 1 told <a rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tntsports.co.uk\/tennis\/roland-garros-men\/2026\/french-open-new-rafael-nadal-rafael-jodar-joao-fonseca-carlos-alcaraz-jannik-sinner-paris_sto23303115\/story.shtml\" target=\"_blank\">TNT Sports<\/a>. \u201cThe new Rafa [Nadal]. He hits the ball so clean, but the most important thing is the attitude.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe attitude is absolutely brilliant, doesn\u2019t matter if it\u2019s the first round, or if he plays against Jannik Sinner in Madrid, he had a chance to win the second set there.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo me, he\u2019s the real deal. Joao Fonseca was the real deal, he still has a good chance, but Rafael Jodar is the new name, and the new name has a big chance to get into the top 10, even at the end of the year. He\u2019s good on all surfaces.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jodar currently sits at No 29 in the Live Rankings and could make his top-20 breakthrough with a deep run at the clay-court Grand Slam.<\/p>\n<p>With two-time defending champion <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/atp-tour\/carlos-alcaraz-handed-stark-what-if-warningnightmare-wrist-injury-derails-2026-season\">Carlos Alcaraz unable to defend his title<\/a> due to a wrist injury, Jodar has turned into the big Spanish hope at Roland Garros this year, much to the delight of two-time French Open runner-up Alex Corretja.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m so pumped. Of course, we\u2019ve been missing Carlos Alcaraz during the clay court season, all of a sudden, we just bring [in] Rafa Jodar,\u201d the former world No 2 said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is unreal what he\u2019s been doing. Not just winning Marrakech, then he played very well in Barcelona, back-to-back in Madrid and Rome as well.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s so, so humble, knows exactly what he wants. He works with his father, they are both very chill. I saw him here the other day, and I said \u2018so how are you feeling?\u2019. And he went \u2018it\u2019s just super good to be here, happy to be playing Roland-Garros for the first time, not juniors\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think he\u2019s not panicking, not putting too much pressure on himself, but at the same time, he has so much confidence. That\u2019s good to go into the tournament.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m really looking forward to seeing how far he can go. The seed from his side, Taylor Fritz, went out last night.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>*Mats Wilander and Alex Corretja will feature as part of TNT Sports\u2019 Roland-Garros coverage*<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tntsports.co.uk\/tennis\/how-to-watch-2026-french-open-tnt-sports-hbo-max-clay-court_sto23286748\/story.shtml\">*Every match of Roland-Garros is live across TNT Sports and HBO Max*<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><!-- Article End --><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Spanish teenager described as \u2018the real deal\u2019 by tennis great \u2013 \u2018He has a big chance\u2019 Shahida Jacobs 26 May 2026 8:30 AM Rafael Jodar with inset of Max Wilander Rafael Jodar is the name on everyone\u2019s lips with the Spanish teenager described as the \u201cnew Rafa Nadal\u201d and praised for his \u201cbrilliant\u201d attitude. Twelve [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,249],"class_list":["post-1955398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-tennis365-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1955398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1955398"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1955398\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1955398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1955398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1955398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}