Iga Swiatek of Poland returns to Emerson Jones of Australia during their first round women’s singles tennis match at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo\/Thibault Camus)<\/small><\/p>\n
2026-05-25T12:02:07Z<\/p>\n
PARIS (AP) \u2014 Two-time reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz<\/a><\/span> is out injured. Promising 21-year-old French player Arthur Fils<\/a><\/span> also pulled out with a physical issue. Jack Draper<\/a><\/span> has been bothered for months by a right knee problem.<\/p>\n The list of candidates capable of challenging top-ranked Jannik Sinner<\/a><\/span>, who enters the French Open<\/a><\/span> on a three-month-long 29-match winning streak, has been dwindling.<\/p>\n Enter Rafael Jodar<\/a><\/span>, the 19-year-old Spaniard who has been making waves on the ATP Tour.<\/p>\n Jodar continued to impress in his Roland Garros debut, dropping just five games in a 6-1, 6-0, 6-4 rout of American opponent Aleksandar Kovacevic on Monday despite boiling heat<\/a><\/span> at the clay-court Grand Slam. The last man to concede fewer games in a French Open debut was Novak Djokovic<\/a><\/span>, who allowed three to Robby Ginepri in 2005.<\/p>\n \u201cI did the things very well from the start,\u201d Jodar said. \u201cIt\u2019s just my first year (on tour) and I\u2019m experiencing a lot of things in these past few months.\u201d<\/p>\n Mostly, Jodar has been experiencing victories: He\u2019s won 16 of his last 19 matches, raised a trophy on clay in Morocco, reached the semifinals in Barcelona and had a run to the quarterfinals in Madrid ended by Sinner.<\/p>\n A year ago, Jodar was ranked No. 707 and playing challengers \u2014 tennis\u2019 minor leagues \u2014 in the U.S. after he competed at the University of Virginia. Now he\u2019s No. 29 and is seeded 27th in Paris.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was obviously another chapter of my life but I think that chapter also helped me to develop a lot and to be a better player now,\u201d Jodar said.<\/p>\n