Rafael Jodar had two reasons to be smiling at the Madrid Open following his first round win at the tournament on Wednesday.
The 19-year-old rising star marked his debut at the Masters 1000 event with a hard-fought 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 win over Jesper de Jong on the premier court at the Caja Magica. Jodar produced a total of 34 winners, which were nine more than those of his rival, and won 68% of his first service points during the two-and-a-half-hour encounter.
Among those watching the Spaniard in action was Jude Bellingham, who plays as a midfielder for Jodar’s favourite team, Real Madrid. Following his win, the tennis player wrote ‘Hey Jude’ on the camera lens before briefly meeting the England international in person.
“I talked to him after the match, asked him if he had liked it,” Jodar said. “I didn’t know that he was going to be here, it meant a lot to me. He’s a great person. I’m very grateful that he came. He’s an example for me, he’s my favourite soccer player.”
Bellingham is a well-known tennis fan and previously described the French Open final between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz as his best sporting moment of 2025. During the same year, Alcaraz described the footballer as one of the best in the world.
With Alcaraz out of the Madrid Masters due to injury, the limelight has intensified on Jodar, who has now won nine out of his last 10 Tour-level matches. Earlier this month, he won his first ATP title in Morocco before reaching the semi-finals of the Barcelona Open as a wildcard. Since the start of 2026, he has risen more than 100 places in the rankings from 165th to 42nd. He is the third-highest-ranked Spaniard in men’s tennis and the only player from his country under 20 in the top 100.
“This is my first year on the Tour; I’m still finding my footing and learning how to handle myself during matches,” Jodar told reporters in Madrid.
“It’s true that these two tournaments (Barcelona and Madrid) are very special—I get to play at home, which means a lot of people I know come out to watch me.
“In general, I’m a calm person; I don’t really like to show my emotions much, but there are times during a match when you have to, and that’s a good thing. If you win an important point, it’s nice to shout and see that the crowd is behind you.”
Jodar, who is a former US Open junior champion, has a shot at claiming his first win over a top 10 player on Friday when he faces Alex de Minaur, who received a bye in the first round. De Minaur reached the quarter-finals in Monte Carlo before suffering a surprise second round exit in Barcelona. Both of those losses were to players ranked lower than him.
“This will be my second time facing a top-10 opponent; I’ll try to learn from whatever happens during the match and, above all, enjoy it,” Jodar commented.
“That’s the most important thing. It’s not every day you get to play against a world-class player in front of your home crowd, so the goal is to enjoy it.”
