Spain’s Newest Tennis Sensation Dedicates First Madrid Open Win to Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham

Spain’s newest tennis sensation Rafael Jódar dedicated his first-round win at the Madrid Open to Real Madrid and England midfielder Jude Bellingham, imitating the soccer star’s signature goal celebration after clinching the victory on his tournament debut.

The 19-year-old Madrid native raised his arms and opened them wide to mirror Bellingham’s celebration after defeating Jesper de Jong 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 in a match that lasted two and a half hours on center court at the Caja Magica.

Jódar then wrote “Hey Jude” on the lens of a television camera before meeting Bellingham in the stands, where the two posed for a photo doing the celebration together.

“I talked to him after the match, asked him if he had liked it,” Jódar said. “I didn’t know that he was going to be here, it meant a lot to me. He’s a great person. I’m very grateful that he came. He’s an example for me, he’s my favorite soccer player.”

With the victory, Jódar became just the third Spaniard — after Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz — to earn a main-draw win at the Madrid Open before turning 20 years old.

Jódar, who won his first ATP Tour title earlier this month in Marrakech, entered the top 100 in the world rankings in March and is now ranked No. 42 globally. Just a year ago, he was outside the top 600.

He had previously met Bellingham and other Real Madrid players when honored by the club at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium following his title at the 2024 U.S. Open Boys’ championship.

Jódar will next face fifth-seeded Alex de Minaur of Australia in the second round of the Madrid Open.