When the ATP Rankings were published in the first week of 2026, Rafael Jodar was ranked 165th. Fast forward to October of the same year, and the Spaniard is ranked 13th in the world. While the Spaniard’s surge through the rankings has been impressive, fan complaints about his various on-court incidents have also increased. Given what transpired between the Spaniard and a ball kid at the ongoing Shanghai Masters, it is likely that Jodar’s on-court behavior will be under scrutiny again.
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The incident took place in the Spaniard’s match against Botic van de Zandcshulp in a fourth-round encounter. Having lost the first set in the match, Jodar squandered two break points in the opening game of the second set. With frustrations boiling over, the Spaniard was heard saying “Give me the d##n towel right now,” to one of the ball kids, which promptly earned him a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct from the umpire. The Spaniard tried to plead his case, but the umpire’s decision was final.
The warning seemed to do the trick, as Jodar was seen speaking in a calmer tone with the ball kids. This is not the first time that the Spaniard has been involved in an incident with a ball kid. Back at the French Open, the 20-year-old was initially thought to have pushed a ball girl out of his way when coming back from a toilet break. Different camera angles, however, did show that there was no contact between the player and the girl in question, with the latter falling of her own accord while trying to backpedal out of Jodar’s way.
Jodar issued a statement, vehemently stating that he had not pushed the girl in any way, but the Spaniard remained the centerpiece of fan criticism on social media. In the next Slam at Wimbledon, fans were not impressed when Jodar showed no gratitude towards a ball girl who had picked up his racket, as the Spaniard had fallen on the court while chasing a ball.
The Jodar-ballkid saga had its most comical moment in Washington, when one of the ball kids accidentally hit the Spaniard with a ball during his match against Lorenzo Musetti. While the onlookers in the stadium found the humor in the incident, the Spaniard did not look amused and was seen glaring at the ball kid in question.
Not to mention, Jodar’s shoelaces have been the topic of discussion for months in the tennis world. The Spaniard’s shoelaces first broke in his final against Taylor Fritz in Washington, and continued all across the hard-court swing, until the Laver Cup. Fans expressed their frustration at each incident, often accusing the Spaniard of gamesmanship that disrupted his opponent’s rhythm, especially when the scoreboard was not in his favor.
However, to Jodar’s credit, in each of the matches that involved a slight skirmish with a ball kid, the Spaniard did not let it affect his performance, a trend that continued in Shanghai.
Rafael Jodar Does Not Let Ball Kid Incidents Affect His Performance
Alex Michelsen in Roland Garros, Pablo Carreno-Busta at Wimbledon, or Lorenzo Musetti in Washington- in each of the three matches where a ballkid drama involved Jodar, the Spaniard did not let the controversy mar his performance, as he won all those matches. The same continued against Van de Zandschulp in Shanghai as well, where the code violation woke the Spaniard rather than stalling his progress.
Despite missing two break points in the opening game of the second set, Jodar converted on the third, taking the lead. While his Dutch opponent did get the break back, Jodar took the decisive lead at 5-4 and, after missing five set points, finally took his chance on the sixth in the tenth game, winning the set.
The third set started the same, with Jodar once again breaking in the opening game to take a 1-0 lead. This time, he left no opportunity for his opponent to make a comeback, securing a double break in the seventh game and serving it out confidently at 6-2 to win the match.
Having won his fourth-round match, Jodar will face either Casper Ruud or Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarterfinals. Ranked 11th on the ATP Race Rankings after the win, Jodar will aim for a second Masters semifinal of his career in order to boost his qualification chances for Turin.