Virginia Cavaliers Official Athletic Site

Rafael Jódar

6'3''
Height
Freshman
Class
Madrid, Spain
Hometown
Instagram
Rafael Jódar - Men's Tennis - Virginia Cavaliers

Rafael Jodar Pronunciation

ITA Stats Page

  • 2025 ACC Freshman of the Year
  • 2025 All-ACC First Team
  • 2025 ITA Singles All-American

2024-25

  • ACC Freshman of the Year, becoming the eighth player in program history to earn the honor
  • ITA Singles All-American
  • All-ACC First Team in singles
  • Voted UVA’s Male Rookie of the Year across all sports
  • Joined the team in January
  • Reached career-high No. 4 in the ITA Singles rankings on April 22
  • Went 19-3 in singles and 14-4 in doubles
  • Posted a a 15-2 record playing on the top singles court
  • Went 8-0 in the ACC regular season in singles
  • Finished the season as the highest ranked player in the ACC in singles
  • Made collegiate debut at No. 15 South Carolina (1/16) on court two, dropping the match against 6-4, 6-4 against Connor Thomson. It was his only regular-season loss. He would not drop another match until the final of the ACC Championship on 4/20, winning 17 matches in a row (completed)
  • Reached No. 70 in the ITA Doubles rankings with James Hopper on March 18
  • Picked up first collegiate win against Old Dominion (1/19), topping No. 88 Cosme Rolland de Ravel in straight sets
  • Earned ACC Freshman of the Week (2/4) after defeating No. 3 Timo Legout 3-6, 7-6 (7), 6-3 on the top court in Virginia’s 4-3 win over No. 1 Texas. He also topped No. 64 Will Jansen of Ohio State 6-4, 1-6, 6-1
  • Earned second straight ACC Freshman of the Week honor (2/11) after topping No. 23 Thomas Paulsell 6-3, 6-2 in UVA’s 5-2 win at Georgia
  • Won third straight ACC Freshman of the Week honor (2/18) after a 2-0 week in singles, highlighted by a 6-4, 6-4 victory over No. 16 Braden Shick in UVA’s 4-1 victory over No. 19 NC State. Jódar also defeated No. 109 Gavin Young 6-3, 6-2 in Virginia’s 4-2 win over No. 20 Michigan
  • Picked up first ranked doubles victory, topping No. 12 Luca Staeheli and Jules Leroux of NC State 6-4 (3/7)
  • Defeated No. 5 DK Suresh Ekambaram of Wake Forest 6-2, 6-4 (3/9)
  • Won fourth ACC Freshman of the Week honor after picking up two victories over top 25 opponents in the ITA Singles Rankings (3/11)
  • Topped No. 9 Carl Emil Overbeck 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3) of then-No. 14 Cal on the top court (3/21)
  • Picked up first career ATP Challenger Tour wins, reaching the semifinals of the Morelos Open
  • Defeated No. 16 Carl Emil Overbeck of Cal (4/18) and No. 13 Stefan Dostanic of Wake Forest (4/19) in the ACC Tournament, helping the Cavaliers reach the final
  • Topped No. 8 Jack Pinnington of No. 2 TCU 6-4, 6-3 on the top singles court in the NCAA Quarterfinals
  • Finished the season with a 6-0 doubles record playing with Roy Horovitz

Background

  • 2024 Junior US Open Boys Singles Champion
  • Career-high ITF Junior Ranking of No. 4, reached in September 2024, a ranking that held through the end of the year and the end of his junior career
  • Singles finalist at the ITF WTT 25K in Denia, Spain in July 2024
  • Advanced to the quarterfinals at the ITF WTT 25K in Vic, Spain, in May 2024
  • Made his ATP Challenger debut at the Villena (Spain) Challenger in September 2024, falling in the first round
  • Won the U18 grass tournament in Roehampton prior to his run at 2024 Junior Wimbledon
  • Advanced to the 2024 quarterfinals in doubles and singles at Junior Wimbledon
  • Won five ITF Juniors titles in 2023, including the J300 in Sanxenxo, Spain
  • Advanced to the Round of 16 at the 2024 Junior French Open
  • Made his Junior Grandslam debut at the 2023 US Open

VIRGINIA CAREER STATS

SINGLES DOUBLES
Year Overall Dual ACC Overall Dual ACC
2024-25 19-3 19-3 8-0 14-4 14-4 4-2