Rafa Jódar is lacking two things

Jose Morón | 14 May 2026 | 11.22

What Rafa Jódar is lacking are two things. Photo: Getty

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As always happens, as spectators or fans of a sport like tennis, we tend to have short memories or unfairly compare athletes. What happened last night at the Foro Italico in Rome, with Rafa Jódar battling until two in the morning, offered a new chapter of 'Yes, but Rafa Nadal was already doing that at 19', as if what Rafa does is achievable by anyone.

I remember at the beginnings of Carlos Alcaraz, in his defeats people would talk about him being hyped by the media since Nadal in his time, at 18, was winning Roland Garros or fighting for 5 hours against many opponents without breaking a sweat and winning. Time ended up silencing all those haters, understanding that Carlitos ended up becoming a legend in this sport. The same thing happens with any young player. They get compared to Rafa, and that is tremendously unfair.

Jódar has only been competing on the circuit for five months. Until two days ago, this guy was at the University of Virginia, more concerned about other matters than focusing his life around tennis. A year ago, he was ranked 900th. Today, he is among the top 30 in the world and 12th in the year's Race. If that is not commendable, then may God come and see it.

Last night, in Rome, he had the misfortune of his match against Darderi being scheduled as the last one. To make matters worse, it rained during the day, and the match was delayed until 11:00 p.m. to start. At that time, the temperature dropped below 10 degrees, with 90% humidity making it very difficult to move the ball. His powerful shots lost their effectiveness due to the temperature and conditions, conditions that favored Darderi's game of playing five to six meters behind the line to hit heavy and deep balls.

Another young player in his place would have abandoned ship after an hour of play. It was the type of match that did not suit his style at all. Nonetheless, Rafa had the courage to dig in and play a type of match that was far from comfortable for him. He started running from side to side and hitting with weight. In that battle, he came back from 0-3 down in the second set saving two match points. The issue was that his legs gave up as the clock approached three hours of play.

Rafa Jódar's Physical Condition Exposed to Criticism

Youngsters are not machines. Imagine wanting to run a marathon and instead of preparing by gradually running increasing distances up to 42km, you try to jump from running 5km to 42km. Doesn't that make no sense? All youngsters, without exception, under 20 years old are not physically equipped for this kind of battle.

People associate youth with greater physical endurance, and that is incorrect. Athletes approaching 30 are the ones with greater endurance, as they have trained their bodies for years for such challenges. Hence, it is very rare for a young player of this age to advance far in Grand Slams, where matches are played over the best of five sets, as they do not usually have the required physical preparation.

What Jódar lacked last night were variations. Having a volley and drop shot. An attacking player like him must have net play or mid-court game. Darderi was very comfortable playing five meters from the baseline. Rafa only attempted 11 drop shots, and when he came to the net, it didn't work out well.

It's normal. He has just entered the circuit, so he needs to work on these aspects gradually. He will incorporate them. Just look at Jannik Sinner, who started training his drop shot at 24 to add variety and not get stuck in battles that only wear him out physically.

It would also be necessary, and this is a personal observation, for Rafa to finalize assembling his own support team, with people who know him and work for him. Yesterday, he needed someone to guide him in taking salts and various drinks to prevent dehydration and cramps, as well as starting to work on his body as soon as possible with a trainer to avoid his body giving up in the third sets, as it did against Fils in Barcelona or yesterday in Rome against Darderi.

Today Rafa lost due to several reasons:

One, because Darderi has a privileged physique and finished the match much fresher. At 19, it's normal that his legs are not yet ready for this kind of battle.

Another, because he still doesn't have the skills for volleys and drop shots. A type… pic.twitter.com/j61xiznzQX
— José Morón (@jmgmoron) May 14, 2026

In tennis, he has already shown that he can go toe-to-toe with anyone. Now he needs to work on those things he still lacks and need to add to his game. The good news for Rafa is that he will learn these things over time. Yesterday's experience was due to lack of flight hours. The beauty of inexperience is that it fades away sooner or later.

We need to be fairer to young players because everyone went through that phase. Comparing them to Nadal, the greatest beast we've ever seen before the age of 20, is unfair because everyone will come up short in that comparison. What we need to see is that at 19 and only five months on the circuit, he's fighting to break into the top 10 of the year. That is what deserves recognition. Rafa Jódar is going to be very good. There's no doubt about that.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Lo que le falta a Rafa Jódar son dos cosas