As a nation, Spain has produced some of the most legendary tennis players. Carlos Alcaraz is one active name on the ATP Tour who still has multiple years of his prime remaining. Due to the level of talent in the country, the 21-year-old is no longer in conversations regarding the future of tennis in Spain.
This tag has now been awarded to Rafael Jodar.
Over the past few weeks, Jodar has become one of the most popular names in Spain. The 17-year-old first became the talk of the town after winning the Juniors US Open 2024.
The 12th seed made headlines for defeating the #2, #3, and #1 seeds in the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals, respectively.
Quarterfinal – d. Roland-Garros champion
Semifinal – d. Australian Open champion
Final – d. Wimbledon championRafael Jodar comes through the ultimate path to the US Open Boys’ title! pic.twitter.com/HlSZ8IM7NO
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 7, 2024
As a result of this victory, the Madrid native has been invited to Malaga to help the Spanish team led by Alcaraz prepare for the ongoing Davis Cup 2024. Clips of Jodar rallying with the ATP World No.3 have gone viral, and fans are gushing over the two youngsters.
Carlitos entrenando con Rafael Jódar
( copadavis en instagram) pic.twitter.com/R8nn8k0Shb
— Carlos Alcaraz Italia (@alcaraz_italia) September 12, 2024
Besides the two most significant moments of his career, enthusiasts are also lauding the youngster for his mentality. During a recent interview with Punto de Break, from what his comments suggested, the teenager remained humble and put in the hard work rather than allowing the victories to get to his head.
Despite increasing popularity, especially on social media, the 2006-born prodigy is choosing to “maintain the same humility” before all the success.
“The number of followers has grown a lot. Important people like (Alvaro) Morata have started to follow me, but I know I have to keep my feet on the ground. This is an important victory that will give me a lot of motivation to keep going, but there are things that must remain the same. I must maintain the same humility and without believing myself to be someone I am not, that is my goal right now,” Jodar said (translated from Spanish).
While the youngster doesn’t “care” about the comparisons to Rafael Nadal or Alcaraz, from what clips from their training camp suggest, captain David Ferrer is seemingly grooming him to become the next big Spanish player on the ATP Tour.
However, it might be quite a while before we see Jodar becoming a regular name on the tour. Having signed the letter of intent to attend the University of Virginia from this year onwards, he hopes to develop playing in the American college circuit for the next year and beyond.
