Why is Rafa Jódar going to play in the ATP Finals as the Number 11 in the Ranking?
The Madrid player has become the first tennis player in history to participate in this tournament in his first full year as a professional.
The Spaniard Rafa Jódar has been one of the major protagonists among those qualified for the ATP Finals 2026, especially because we are talking about a player who is competing in his first season on the ATP circuit. An historic achievement that further highlights the spectacular year that the Madrid native has had. However, his qualification has raised a question among many fans: how is it possible that Jódar is going to compete in this tournament if he currently appears in the number 11 position of the ATP Ranking? The answer is much simpler than it seems.
Everything has to do with the points that some players still hold from the last season. Specifically, Alex de Miñaur and Taylor Fritz retain points in the ATP Ranking that they earned at the ATP Finals of 2025, points that have not yet been deducted and will officially disappear next Monday, November 16. This circumstance explains why both appear ahead of the Spaniard in the world ranking.
The situation changes when we look at the ATP Race, which only accounts for points earned during the 2026 season. In this ranking, Rafa Jódar occupies the ninth position with 3234 points, surpassing Alex de Miñaur, who is tenth with 3170. This is a difference of just 64 points that has proven decisive for the Madrid native. If we add to this that Jannik Sinner will not compete in the ATP Finals 2026 due to injury, we find the definitive explanation: Jódar is the eighth-best player available of the season and, therefore, his spot is completely secured.
FIRST MASTERS 1000 FINAL ☝️ Jodar gets the BEST win of his career - 6-3 6-4 to get past Medvedev! #RolexShanghaiMasters https://t.co/zacNDGPpGI
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 17, 2026
Rafa Jódar will play in the ATP Finals 2026
For fans who do not follow the rankings daily, it is understandable that there is some confusion between the ATP Ranking and the ATP Race. The fundamental difference is that the ATP Ranking includes results from the last 52 weeks, while the Race exclusively counts points accumulated during the calendar year.
This causes seemingly contradictory situations, especially when changes occur in the calendar. Sometimes, a player may retain points from a tournament held the previous year that has not yet celebrated its new edition, or lose them before returning to compete in it. Date adjustments, like those that may affect the period between Wimbledon and the Masters 1000 in Canada, contribute to creating these temporal differences. Hence, the world ranking and qualification for the ATP Finals do not always coincide.
With this clarified, Rafa Jódar will face in Turin the biggest challenge of his still short professional career. The draw will take place this Thursday, November 12, and the Madrid native will then know his first three opponents in a competition where he will have real chances to fight for the semifinals. There is one particularly interesting fact: four of the eight participants will be debutants, including Jódar himself. Flavio Cobolli, Arthur Fils, and Frances Tiafoe also do not know what it means to compete in this tournament, which could balance the forces.
Moreover, the Spaniard arrives with reasons to be optimistic. Cobolli is carrying physical problems that prevented him from competing in the Paris Masters 1000, while Tiafoe is not enjoying his best recent results. Against players like Arthur Fils or Daniil Medvedev, Jódar could also find opportunities to compete for one of the top two spots in his group.
On paper, Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, and Ben Shelton start as the three major favorites to win the title. Behind them is a more open group where we could easily place Jódar as the fourth or fifth candidate. This assessment reflects just how much the Madrid native has grown in an absolutely extraordinary season. Now he will have the opportunity to prove it on the most demanding stage possible, the ATP Finals in Turin.
This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, ¿Por qué Rafa Jódar va a jugar las ATP Finals siendo el Número 11 del Ranking?