Rafa Jódar, who is seeded at a Masters 1000 event for the first time, continues to accelerate his rise through the ranks. The young player from Leganés, who began the season ranked 168th in the world, has already secured a career-high ranking after his performance in Rome and will be seeded for the upcoming Roland Garros (May 24 to June 7).
Jódar hitting a forehand. (EFE)
On Sunday, Jódar advanced to the round of 16 in the Rome Masters, where he will face fellow “Next Gen” star Learner Tien for a place in the quarterfinals. Tien, the great hope of American tennis, won the last edition of the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah. His only loss in that event came at the hands of Jódar.
In just four and a half months, Jódar has gone from competing in the Australian Open qualifying rounds to fighting for a spot in the prestigious ATP Finals in Turin (November 15-22). He currently sits 15th in the 2026 Race standings with 1,069 points, just 251 points behind eighth-placed Flavio Cobolli.
Jódar has accumulated 32 match wins this season, second only to world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who has 33 victories and has dominated the tour since reaching the quarterfinals in Doha.