Jódar returns to London awaiting to know if he can play at Wimbledon

Andrés Tomás Rico - 23 Jun 2026 | 19:56
ATP Rafael Jódar Wimbledon 2026

Spanish returns to England a week later after being forced to withdraw from Queen’s and Eastbourne due to some abdominal discomfort that keeps his presence at Wimbledon still uncertain.

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Jódar returns to London awaiting to find out if he can play at Wimbledon. Photo: Getty Images

Days go by, and the presence of Rafa Jódar at Wimbledon remains uncertain. Eight days after unexpectedly announcing his withdrawal from the ATP Queen’s, just 24 hours before his grass court debut, all alarms went off, particularly due to an abdominal issue. No exact timeframe for his absence was confirmed, but the goal was, and still is, to make it to the third Grand Slam of the year.

As expected, Jódar withdrew from the ATP Eastbourne, a tournament where he was entered one week after Queen’s and just before Wimbledon. With the start of the London Grand Slam approaching, set to kick off on Monday, June 29th, the question mark regarding the status of his abdominal discomfort remains. Nevertheless, the latest update, as reported by MARCA, is that the Spaniard has returned to London to test himself on the grass courts once again.

Jódar regresa a Londres a la espera de saber si puede jugar en Wimbledon

Will Rafa Jódar be able to play at Wimbledon 2026?

This development represents a significant step, indicating that the Spanish player feels capable of competing in his first Wimbledon main draw. In fact, if he does play, he would enter as the number three seed, thus avoiding meeting another seed until the third round.

Following an intense clay-court swing, during which the Leganés native played a total of 23 matches with 19 wins across four tournaments and three months, his body sent him a signal just before the grass season commenced. In fact, he has not yet played any official matches on this surface, although he reached the junior Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2024.

 

"I haven't played much on this surface, but I think I can do well. I'm getting used to it this week through training. You have a month to play on this surface, and if you don’t participate in tournaments, you'll never get used to it," he said upon arriving at the ATP Queen’s, two days before his withdrawal became official.

Pending his assessment of how he feels, Jódar faces a dilemma. If he decides to compete at Wimbledon, it will be without a single match under his belt on a surface that demands practice, control, and technique. Moreover, pushing his physical limits too far could jeopardize his readiness for the upcoming hard court swing in North America.

The North American hard court swing would be Rafa Jódar's next target

These series of tournaments, including the Masters 1000 events in Canada and Cincinnati, and the US Open, are crucial for the Spaniard, as he spent most of 2025 playing on these surfaces during his university journey and it suits his style best. In fact, he has just confirmed his participation in the ATP 500 in Washington. Therefore, overexerting in a challenging territory like Wimbledon could have severe consequences for his future interests. Now, the ball is in Rafa Jódar's court. Wimbledon, yes or no?

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