Madrid teenager loses five games on his Roland-Garros debut
A ruthless showing from Rafael Jodar marked his Roland-Garros debut in style, the teenager taking a 6-1, 6-0, 6-4 win over Aleksandar Kovacevic on Monday.
The Spaniard is one of the most exciting prospects on tour courtesy of a collection of recent head-turning results and he justified that hype on Court 12 on Monday.
Jodar, who only turned pro at the tail-end of 2025, advances to take on Australian James Duckworth.
“I’m very, very happy. I think I did the things very well from the start, and super happy to get my first win in Paris,” said the 19-year-old.
“Obviously to play my first time at Roland-Garros and seeing so many people, not just from France, but also from other parts, especially from Spain. It was special to see also the many people cheering for me after every point is great. I feel that support and I’m very grateful.”
There were queues of five, six people deep trying to catch a glimpse of the latest Spanish superstar called ‘Rafa.’
The buzz for the Madrid native has been building due to his rapid and seismic rise. This time last year, world No.707 Jodar lost in the opening round of an ATP Challenger in Arkansas (USA) and had to settle for watching Roland-Garros on TV.
Since then, it’s been a succession of milestone moments for the former University of Virginia athlete.
Jodar began the current season at world No.168 and by the end of April the Spaniard had collected his first ATP title in Marrakech.
The No.27 seed has kept building momentum with big-time performances yielding big results, including a Barcelona semifinal, alongside back-to-back Masters 1000 quarterfinals in Madrid and Rome.
While the focus on the youngster intensifies, Jodar is content to follow “the process”.
“I'm not in a rush at all. I think I still have to learn a lot of things in the tour. It's just my first year, and I'm experiencing a lot of things,” continued the world No.29.
“But I think these experiences are really helping me to develop as a player and as a person, because I'm learning a lot when I'm playing the tournaments and when I'm preparing for the matches. I’m very grateful just to be part of this tournament.”
The calls of ‘Vamos Rafa’ from the crowd were sprinkled in constantly throughout a clinical 94-minute triumph.
Even out of position, on the run, the 19-year-old managed to scoop a cross court forehand winner during a sharp start. The devastating first-strike tennis was pinning world No.67 Kovacevic behind the baseline, as Jodar rattled through games.
The first true test arrived at 4-3 in the third set, however, only for Jodar to erase break point with assured power and precision.
The last man to drop five or fewer games during a Roland-Garros debut was Novak Djokovic (just three games) back in 2005 versus Robby Ginepri. ‘Rafa’ is in that kind of company.
“I just try to face every match as [if] it is going to be a very tough match, and I think it was honestly a hard match,” said the level-headed teenager.
“I think first matches are always difficult in the tournament. So I had to serve very well. I tried to play my game during the first two sets, and even when the things got a little bit trickier for me in the third set, I think I played those points especially very, very well, playing my game.
“Playing in a five-set match, everything can go, you know, up and down. You just have to face it the best way possible.”
ROLAND-GARROS
18 May - 7 June 2026
