Jódar opens ATP Finals debut against world number one Zverev in Turin

Jódar's debut against the world number one

Rafa Jódar, a 20-year-old from Madrid, opens his ATP Finals campaign on Sunday, 15 November, when he meets Alexander Zverev at 14:00 at the Inalpi Arena in Turin. Movistar+ will broadcast the match. According to El País, Jódar is the first player to qualify for the season-ending event in his first professional season, a feat no player had managed before. ABC says he started 2026 outside the top 160 and now sits in the top ten, with a title in Marrakech and finals at the Shanghai Masters 1000 and the Washington 500. The sources differ on his season record: La Razón puts it at 45 wins and 19 defeats, while El País counts 58 wins in 78 matches. Speaking at the official press conference, Jódar described his week as a payoff rather than a burden.

“I am treating this week as a reward for all the points I have won over the year.”

Zverev and the Roland Garros meeting

Zverev, 29, is ranked world number one and closes 2026 ahead of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, according to ABC. He is making his ninth ATP Finals appearance and has won the title in 2018 and 2021. The German has two Grand Slam titles this season. The two players have met only once, in the Roland Garros quarterfinal, where Zverev won 7-6(3), 6-1 and 6-3. Jódar had reached that round by winning two matches in five sets, and La Razón says he pushed Zverev hard in the first set. Zverev has said his first match against Jódar is his main goal for now.

“I am not thinking about Carlos for now. He has been exceptional since his return and has been playing extraordinary tennis.”

Group Ivan Lendl and Alcaraz's form

Europa Press reports that Alcaraz arrives with nine straight wins and titles in Vienna and Paris, and that he has won seven Grand Slam titles at the age of 23. Sinner's absence through injury raises Alcaraz's standing as the player to beat, according to the same agency. His group includes Daniil Medvedev, the 2020 champion, and the debutants Flavio Cobolli and Frances Tiafoe. La Razón records Alcaraz at 7-3 overall against Medvedev, with the two level 1-1 this season. LaSexta reports that Alcaraz's first opponent is Cobolli, the world number six, and that the two have a close friendship.

“We have grown up together, shared training sessions, and the fact that he came to my house to train with me meant a lot to me.”

Group John McEnroe and the evening session

Zverev has a 6-0 record against Ben Shelton and a 5-2 record against Arthur Fils, according to La Razón. Zverev beat Shelton in this season's US Open final, while Fils won the first of his three meetings with Jódar in the Godó semifinal (3-6, 6-2 and 6-3). Jódar won the other two, in Washington and in the Canada Masters quarterfinal, so he leads that rivalry 2-1. Shelton and Fils play the evening match at 20:30 on Sunday. La Razón says the Turin schedule of 15 matches runs from Sunday, 15 November, to Sunday, 22 November.