Nadal, Alcaraz and now Jodar: how Spain’s school of ‘suffering’ forges the stars of men’s tennis

Rafael Jodar, just 19, is among the 32 seeded players at this year’s French Open, which begins Sunday. Photograph: Riccardo Antimiani/EPA Spain is at it again. A year ago Rafael Jodar, the teenage sensation from Madrid, was ranked around No 700 in the world and completing his freshman year at the University of Virginia.

After winning several ATP Challenger titles (the level below regular ATP tournaments) the Spaniard decided to turn pro and forgo his final three years of college eligibility. Jodar won his first main-level ATP match at this year’s Australian Open. And now, stunningly, after a meteoric and nearly unprecedented rise up the rankings, the 19-year-old will be among the 32 seeds when the French Open commences Sunday.

And, in the process, the “new Rafa” – while he has said he was inspired as a child by Nadal, Jodar is named after his father and grandfather – has managed to steal the mantle of the “next future champion” hype away from Brazilian João Fonseca . Ironically Fonseca, also 19, was committed to play college tennis at Virginia with Jodar but instead decided to turn pro, leaving one to wonder if that college team, had it materialized, would have been among the best ever. To have yet another player thrust into the grand slam-winning-possibility conversation adds to the utter embarrassment of riches Spain has enjoyed for more than three decades.

Starting with Sergi Bruguera’s back-to-back French Open titles in 1993 and 1994, the Spanish men have enjoyed a nearly uninterrupted run of dominance with six different players winning grand slams, culminating – at least, one assumed it was culminating – with Rafael Nadal’s 22 major titles. Consider: just three months after Nadal’s final grand slam triumph at the 2022 French Open, Carlos Alcaraz won his first major championship at that year’s US Open. (He has since won six more, but will miss this year’s French Open and Wimbledon with a wrist injury.