Rafael Jódar will meet Alex de Minaur in the second round of the 2026 Mutua Madrid Open on Friday, April 24, 2026, in a match that could be staged at the Manolo Santana Stadium. The start time has not yet been set.
Jódar, who survived a very challenging debut in the tournament, now faces one of the highest-ranked players he has encountered in his still young career. The matchup has immediate appeal in Madrid because Jódar is a local player and de Minaur has not produced his best tennis in the Spanish capital.
That does not make the Australian any less dangerous. De Minaur is looking for a win that would matter both for him and for his progress on clay, and this meeting gives him a chance to reset his Madrid campaign against a player who has already shown he can handle pressure. For Jódar, the assignment is simple to describe and hard to survive: another step up against a far more established opponent.
The attention around the fixture also helps explain why organizers may place it on the Manolo Santana Stadium. The second-round meeting fits the tournament’s broader shape, where a home favorite and a higher-ranked rival give the day a built-in draw before the first ball is struck.
Fans in Spain can follow the 2026 Mutua Madrid Open live through Movistar+ and RTVE, with the tournament also available on the Movistar+ app for subscribers, the RTVE app and TennisTV for subscribers. The match will also be broadcast on Teledeporte. Earlier in the draw, a related matchup saw Sebastian Ofner await Alex de Minaur as the Barcelona draw began, underlining how quickly the clay-court stretch is starting to define the season.
For Jódar, the next hurdle arrives fast. For de Minaur, Madrid is already asking for the kind of win that can change the tone of a clay campaign.
