MELBOURNE, Australia – Former Virginia men’s tennis player Rafael Jódar has advanced through qualifying to earn a spot in the men’s singles main draw of the Australian Open. The Grand Slam tournament runs from January 18 to February 1 at Melbourne Park.
Jódar will make his Grand Slam debut facing fellow qualifier Rei Sakamoto of Japan. Jódar is ranked No. 150 in the world. Sakamoto is No. 202. Date and time of the match are TBD.
Jódar, competing in a Grand Slam qualifier for the first time in his career, won three matches to advance into the singles main draw. He opened with a dominant 6-2, 6-1 win against Australia wildcard Li Tu. Jódar faced UVA alum Chris Rodesch in the second round, logging a 7-6 (10), 6-3 victory before capping his run with a 6-3, 0-6, 6-1 victory against Luca Van Assche of France.
This is the 10th time that a Virginia player will be competing in the men’s singles draw at the Australian Open. Virginia players have also made 18 appearances in the men’s doubles draw of the tournament.
Jódar was the 2025 ITA National Freshman of the Year, posting a 19-3 singles record, finishing the year as the highest-ranked player in the ACC at No. 4 in the ITA Singles Rankings. In his time at Virginia, he was the ACC Freshman of the Year, an ITA Singles All-American, All-ACC First Team in singles and UVA’s Male Rookie of the Year across all sports. He won three ATP Challenger singles titles while enrolled at the University, as well as competing at the 2025 ATP Next Gen Finals in Doha, Saudi Arabia, in December. He announced on December 30 that he would forego his remaining collegiate eligibility to turn professional.