Rafael Jodar completed a five-set win over fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreño Busta on Thursday to reach the third round of Wimbledon on his main-draw debut, extending a rise that has carried the 19-year-old from outside the world’s top 500 to a Grand Slam seeding in barely a year.
The 23rd seed recovered from a two-sets-to-one deficit to win 3-6, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a match that spanned two days. Play was halted Wednesday evening for darkness with Carreño Busta ahead by two sets to one. The pair returned to No. 2 Court on Thursday, where Jodar levelled the match and pulled away, reeling off four straight games in the decider after failing to convert three break points in the opening game. The win took three hours and 43 minutes of court time.
The milestone. By advancing, Jodar became the third Spanish teenager in the Open Era to reach the men’s singles third round at Wimbledon, after Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz — both of whom went on to win the title. It was his first appearance in the Wimbledon main draw and, with his opening-round win, his first tour-level match on grass. His only prior experience at the All England Club came in the 2024 boys’ singles, where he reached the quarterfinals.
A familiar opponent. The result marked the second consecutive major at which Jodar has beaten Carreño Busta in five sets. At Roland Garros in May, he rallied from two sets down against the 34-year-old former world No. 10 to reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal, where he lost to Alexander Zverev. Carreño Busta had won his first Wimbledon main-draw match this year, on his eighth appearance.
The climb. Jodar’s ascent has been among the fastest on the men’s tour. Ranked No. 554 a year ago, he reached a career high of No. 23 in June and has recorded more than two dozen tour-level wins in 2026, a season that included his first ATP title in Morocco and a run to the Barcelona semifinals as a wild card. A former junior US Open champion and University of Virginia player, he turned professional at the end of 2025.
What’s next. Jodar meets Japanese qualifier Shintaro Mochizuki in the third round. A place in the last 16 could set up a fourth-roun
