Rafael Jodar has been involved in another ugly incident, with the Spanish tennis star caught swearing at a ball boy.
The 20-year-old, who courted controversy in May after being accused of pushing a ball girl at Roland-Garros, was captured using offensive language while demanding a towel during a match in Shanghai on Wednesday.
Footage of the immediate aftermath of the incident went viral online and captured Jodar’s angry exchange with Ecuadorian chair umpire, Jimmy Pinoargote.
After losing two break points in succession, Jodar angrily told the ball boy: ‘Give me the f***ing towel, damn it!’
Having received a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct by the umpire, he looked astonished and said: ‘You give me a warning, man?’
The umpire replied: ‘I understand, but not like that. Ask me and I’ll ask him.’ Jodar then denied anything untoward, arguing: ‘But I didn’t say anything bad to him.’
Rafael Jodar, pictured during his win over Botic Van De Zandschulp on Wednesday, was warned by the umpire over swearing at a ball boy
Pinoargote responded: ‘I can’t repeat it, you know what you said, I can’t repeat it now. Not like that, we don’t talk to them like that.’
‘We’ve been playing for an hour and ten minutes, man,’ Jodar said. ‘He goes away for a second, I say something and you already give me a warning. It’s unbelievable, you can really tell you’re not on the court.’
Jodar, who went on to beat Botic Van De Zandschulp in three sets to reach the quarter-finals, is developing a reputation as one of the most poorly behaved players on tour.
In May, he denied shoving a ball girl after footage sparked fury online. During his third-round win at the French Open against US’s Alex Michelsen, Jodar was seen throwing a bottle of water to someone in his box at Roland-Garros before a ball girl suddenly walked across his path as he went to head backstage for a bathroom break.
The girl lost her footing momentarily before regaining her balance. It was unclear if there was any contact as Jodar also appeared to be gesturing to the person in the box – who he said was his father – with his left hand at the same time as he passed by the girl.
‘I didn’t touch her,’ he stressed when asked about the viral clip in his press conference. ‘No, no, no. I could never do that.
‘I didn’t push her or anything. I was telling my dad to give me the things that he was going to give me after a toilet break when I was coming back,’ Jodar explained.
Jodar denied saying anything untoward and then lambasted the chair umpire
‘She was in the middle, so I think she was trying to get out of the way. She was going backwards, but I think she, like, fell, but not because I push(ed) her.’
Jodar said the ball girl got her feet tangled in the court cover. ‘It was right behind her. So when she was walking backwards, she fell with that,’ he said. ‘I appreciate all the work that the ball kids are doing. I know it’s difficult with the heat and the conditions to stay there, so I appreciate. I could never, you know, push a ball kid.’
The No27 seed had drawn fierce criticism online over the initial video, which one user shared on X while writing: ‘But Rafael Jodar, he’s a total creep. How he pushes the ball girl – And it’s not the first time I’ve heard that he’s awful off the court.’
Another fumed: ‘Pathetic attitude from Rafa Jodar… I mean he’s talented but this attitude doesn’t belong in the tennis court.’
However, before he explained what happened in his press conference, others leapt to Jodar’s defence by pointing out that the angle was misleading.
‘Watch it in slow motion,’ one user said. ‘The ball girl was crossing in front of him and trying to get out of his way but she tripped backwards as she tried to get back in place.’
