Rising Spanish tennis star Rafael Jódar recently won his first ATP Tour title at the 2026 Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakesh, Morocco. This achievement of the 19-year-old garnered a heartwarming message from fellow Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz.
Carlos Alcaraz Celebrates Rafael Jódar’s First ATP Tour Title in Marrakesh
Jódar began his campaign at the 2026 Grand Prix Hassan II by defeating qualifier Dušan Lajović, winning 6-3, 6-4 in the first round. In the second round, he eliminated the fourth seed, Tomáš Macháč, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
The Spaniard then advanced to the semifinals after his quarterfinal opponent, Alexandre Müller, retired from their match during the second set while the score was 6-2, 2-0 (retd). Jódar secured his spot in the final by defeating Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-2, 6-1 in the semifinals.
In the championship match, Jódar faced qualifier Marco Trungelliti and defeated him 6-3, 6-2 in just one hour and eight minutes, claiming his maiden ATP Tour title. With this victory, Jódar became the sixth Spaniard in the Open Era, following in the footsteps of Rafael Nadal, Alcaraz, Carlos Moya, Juan Carlos Ferrero, and Tommy Robredo, to lift a trophy before turning 20.
Reacting to Jódar’s first ATP Tour title win in Marrakesh, Alcaraz congratulated him on social media and celebrated the Spanish player’s victory.
“Awesome, @rafa.jodarr! 🙌🏻 💥 Congratulations! Let’s go! ❤️,” Alcaraz captioned his Instagram story (translated from Spanish).
Looking ahead, Alcaraz is set to compete at the 2026 Monte-Carlo Masters. This year, he is the top seed at the tournament and will begin his campaign in the second round after receiving a bye in the first round. In his opening match, he will face the winner of the first-round matchup between Sebastián Báez and wildcard Stan Wawrinka.
The winner of the second-round match between Alcaraz and either Báez or Wawrinka at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament will advance to play against Grigor Dimitrov, Tomás Martín Etcheverry, Térence Atmane, or lucky loser Ethan Quinn in the third round.
On the other hand, Jódar is expected to compete in the 2026 Barcelona Open, which will take place from April 13 to April 19, 2026. The tournament matches will be held on the outdoor clay courts at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona in Barcelona, Spain. This year, Jódar will be making his tournament debut at the Barcelona Open, having received a wildcard entry into the main draw.
In addition to Jódar, former champion Alcaraz and players like Casper Ruud, Andrey Rublev, Lorenzo Musetti, Alex de Minaur, Félix Auger-Aliassime, Jack Draper, and Arthur Fils are also expected to compete at this ATP 500 clay-court tournament.
