Spain’s new tennis phenom sends message to Jannik Sinner

Rafael Jodar is the great emerging talent of Spanish tennis. The Iberian tennis player at age 19 is breaking several precocious records set by Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, to whom he is clearly aiming. In Barcelona, Jodar surprisingly qualified in the semifinals and according to many is a future star on the circuit.

Openly applauding him was Toni Nadal, Rafa Nadal’s uncle and former coach, who even blurted out (“He shoots harder than Alcaraz”), and several colleagues, including the Murcian champion himself, also spoke very positively about him.

Jodar esteems Alcaraz, but in a recent interview with wearetennis he admitted that he has Jannik Sinner as his own model: “I like to watch players like Alcaraz who don’t just play tennis but also give the public a show. But Sinner is the role model for me, I think he is a great player.”

The young Spaniard has a good head on his shoulders and is very determined: “Tennis is important, but so is being an intelligent person and understanding how the world works. I use Instagram very little, more to keep up with the news and follow what my friends are doing. I think overuse of social media can be harmful because it makes you lose focus and is a distraction that can lead to worse consequences.”

Jodar has similar characteristics to Sinner: he prefers concrete, is good at deep balls, and has a longilinear physique just like the world number one. With Alcaraz he has “a very good relationship, he is a very helpful and friendly person. He didn’t give me any advice, but I didn’t ask him for any either.” Sinner be prepared: he will soon have to deal with another phenomenon.