Spanish. First name Rafael.

That’s already a good start for a professional tennis career.

It also doesn’t hurt to be 6’ 3”, have monster groundstrokes, and 19-year old knees. The Madrid native has made a booming entrance onto the ATP tour — climbing over 600 ranking spots in the last 12 months, and winning a 250 title just weeks ago.

His secret?

Coaching himself, according to the ATP website.

Calling it now: Juan Carlos Ferrero is gonna coach Jodar, who will then play Alcaraz in the US Open final in 2027.

Besides the self-coaching, one thing righty-Rafa does incredibly well is return.

Taking a page out of Murray’s book, Jodar takes a step in with his left foot before the split step, getting his momentum moving forward.

Now notice how he’s already inside of the court, loading heavily onto his left leg. So far we have forward step + leg load.

The end result? Making contact with the ball 3-4 feet inside the baseline, with a ton behind it. Fonseca barely got this return back, and Jodar hit a winner on the next shot to break.

What I love about this is that it’s literally just 1 step that starts it all. It’s the smallest detail that’s almost imperceptible to the average viewer because it happens so fast. But one single step forward creates a massive impact on the shot and point overall.

Of course, Jodar does a lot more than just return well. But in the few times that I’ve watched him play, his aggressive returning and outstanding footwork here has stood out.

Tennis Channel does this painfully boring segment called Will anyone step up against Sinner/Alcaraz at the slams? every 30 minutes. And while I think the answer is still mostly a big fat NO, Jodar joins a short list of players that might have a chance.

I could see him catch lightning in a bottle for one week, Delpo style, and snag a slam in the next 3 years.

Hopefully before Zverev lol.

Among American men on the ATP tour, which player holds the record for most weeks ranked World No. 1?

A. Andre Agassi

B. John McEnroe

C. Pete Sampras

D. Jimmy Connors

Find out at the bottom!

Taylor Fritz and Morgan Riddle have broken up after 6 years. Which means there are some big influencer heels to fill at the Grand Slams before Fritz finds a new partner. I volunteer as tribute.

To be honest, 80% of me couldn’t care less about the break up. Analyzing return footwork just gets me more jazzed than celebrity relationship tea. But 20% of me mourns the loss for tennis. Riddle made tennis cool for a segment of people. She undoubtedly brought new fans to the sport with her massive reach: 500k+ followers on Instagram.

Luckily, the tennis-influencer bench is deep. Paige Lorenze is a long-term lock (getting married to Tommy Paul). Karue Sell is killin’ it on YouTube. And we’ve got 6’6 stunner Sam Querrey. Tennis is in good hands.

Some of the best tennis content I found on the internet this week…

😂 The coach that packs way too much into a clinic

🤤 I could watch these court-level highlights for hours

🌴 Fantastic footwork drills to level-up your skills at the net, beach style

C. Pistol Pete Sampras

With a booming serve and U12s backhand, Sampras was absolutely dominant for the better part of 6 years. He spent 286 weeks at No. 1 — a record that will stand for a long time.