Rafael Jodar’s interactions with ball kids have become an unexpected talking point in recent months. More often than not, the Spaniard has found himself caught in awkward situations rather than creating them intentionally. The most notable incident came at the French Open two months ago, when he came under scrutiny after allegedly pushing a ball girl. Now, at the DC Open, the script flipped, as the 19-year-old found himself on the receiving end of an accidental blow from a ball kid.

The incident occurred in the opening game of the deciding set, with Lorenzo Musetti serving at 40-0 in the quarterfinal. The Italian was on his second serve, but as he prepared to take it, the ball kid on Jodar’s side made an unexpected error and threw a ball towards the Spaniard.

Jodar was visibly frustrated and was seen glaring at the ball kid. The crowd erupted with laughter over the incident before the game resumed. However, the 19-year-old didn’t let this incident affect his concentration as he later went on to clinch the deciding set to win the match after an hour and 59 minutes.

Despite taking the lead by clinching the first set, Musetti lost his composure as Jodar mounted a brilliant comeback to win 1-6, 6-1, 6-4. Though the Spaniard sparked attention for his superb performance, his awkward moment with a ball kid also made headlines.

Although the accidental hit briefly caught Jodar off guard, the Spaniard quickly regrouped and held serve comfortably. He gained the all-important break over Musetti once again, and that was enough for him to clinch both the set and the match. Jodar didn’t face any break points after the opening set, and the improvement in his serve played a key role in the victory. In fact, the win over Musetti has seen him rise four spots above his previous ranking, now at career-high No. 19.

Jodar has now advanced to the semifinals of the DC Open. He has so far dropped just a single set in the competition and racked up straight-set wins over Arthur Fils and Kei Nishikori in the opening two matches. He is now scheduled to take on Alejandro Tabilo, who has been the underdog story of the tournament.

For Jodar, the last thing he needed was another run-in involving a ball kid. The accidental hit during his match against Musetti visibly frustrated the Spaniard, particularly because he had already been involved in a similar controversy just two months earlier at the French Open.

Rafael Jodar got accused of pushing a ball girl at the French Open

Only two months earlier, Jodar had come under scrutiny when a viral social media video appeared to show him pushing a ball girl during a changeover. The incident occurred during his third-round clash against Alex Michelsen.

However, Jodar had denied pushing the ball girl. According to the Spaniard, he didn’t even come close to touching her. “I didn’t touch her. No, no, no. I could never do that,” he had said during the post-match press conference in May.

In fact, many fans came to Jodar’s defense, arguing that the footage did not conclusively show any wrongdoing. They pointed out that the camera angle was inconclusive, making it difficult to determine exactly what had happened during the incident.

Just before the incident occurred, Jodar had thrown a water bottle into his player’s box with his left hand. At the same time, the ball girl was walking across the path he was moving and seemed to trip on something.

Nonetheless, the available footage remains inconclusive as it can’t be determined whether there was any physical contact between Jodar and the ball girl.