The key that makes Rafa Jódar's tennis so special
Rafa is astonishing everyone with his tennis in 2026, but there is something in his game that is drawing a lot of attention.
Rafa Jódar continues to surprise us. Tournament after tournament, the young tennis player from Madrid keeps telling us all that if we thought we had seen everything in terms of precocity, he has something to say about it. Last night, in the early morning hours in Spain, Rafa dominated Lehecka, making him look small. It's not just what Jódar is doing, but how he is doing it. With his returns, he is making a difference compared to others.
We repeat this often, but no matter how many times we say it, it remains true that what Rafa is doing in 2026 is completely abnormal. There were expectations about him due to how he performed in several Challengers last year, but this is a whole different level from what one could imagine in his first year on the circuit. That he is comfortably surpassing rivals who have been established in the Top 20 for several seasons shows that this boy is made of different stuff.
The key that makes Jódar's tennis so special
If there is one thing that characterizes Rafa's tennis, it is offensiveness. Completely distancing himself from the label of defensive tennis often associated with Spaniards, Jódar, at just 19 years old and still only trained by his father, has the mindset that he must be offensive. But not just for a while, but throughout the entire match.
He overwhelms you. He takes away your initiative. He pushes you back at all times. With his serve, achieving this is easier since he is the one starting the point and applying the serve+1 combo to dominate his opponent, but the key to his brilliance lies in how he handles himself on the return.
With just eight months on the circuit, Rafa has already ranked among the best in return statistics. In May, he even reached the second spot in the ranking, just behind Jannik Sinner. His opponents must adjust their hits very close to the lines and hit very hard if they don't want to see the ball coming back into their court.
He gets a lot of returns in. It doesn't matter if it's first or second serve. And on top of that, he can aim close to the lines. Yesterday, he completely dismantled Lehecka, leaving him with no answers with tight returns to the lines or his feet. Just to show, one button.
Four RELENTLESS Rafa returns to close it out 🥵#NBO26 pic.twitter.com/dNA0Zw3TZx
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 9, 2026
Going to Court Advantage, from our friends at TennisViz, we see how Rafa landed 50% of his first returns close to the baseline when he averages 31%. This is an absolute madness. But the most surprising of all is where Rafa positioned himself when returning the first serves. While many players position themselves between 2-4 meters behind the line, he stands between 0-2. Almost in a position more typical for returning second serves.
Position of Jódar's first returns against Lehecka. Source: TDI Data, Tennis Viz.
Where Jódar returns the first serves to Lehecka. Source: TDI Data, Tennis Viz.
In this way, he took away all the time in the world from Lehecka, punishing him time and again, taking the initiative at all times in a shot where the Czech expected to be the one dominating, taking advantage of his serve.
With the seconds, Rafa takes another step forward. Except against a couple of opponents, Jódar always returns second serves fully inside the court. He averages 74% of shots within the court, but against Lehecka, he raised that number to 87% of second returns. He completely overwhelmed him, as Jiri barely managed to win 44% of points with his second serve.
Where Jódar returns the second serves to Lehecka. Source: TDI Data, Tennis Viz.
We don't know where Jódar's ceiling will be because the most normal thing is that he continues to grow and improve as he is just a month away from turning 20. What is clear is that this boy has come with the mission to try to join the leading group, where only Alcaraz and Sinner are currently. Other young players have tried to follow in their footsteps, but couldn't keep up. We will see if Rafa has the legs to ascend so quickly.
This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, La clave que hace tan especial el tenis de Rafa Jódar