Rafael Jodar Embroiled in Yet Another Ball Kid Controversy
Jodar told a ball boy to “give me the fucking towel.”
Rising tennis player Rafael Jodar, who has only been a professional for a year, is facing potential top 10 inclusion in the world rankings. However, his promising career has been marred by tense encounters with ball kids. During the Rolex Shanghai Masters, Jodar was issued a code violation after yelling at a young ball boy for not promptly delivering his towel during a match against Botic van de Zandschulp.
The chair umpire, Jimmy Pinoargote, from Ecuador, heard Jodar's profanity-laced Spanish comment, which translates to, "Give me the fucking towel, damn it," and penalized him for unsportsmanlike conduct. Jodar claimed he didn't say anything offensive, but Pinoargote reminded him that such behavior was not acceptable, even if the player was under immense pressure.
The ATP rulebook permits fines of up to $60,000 per code violation at Masters 1000 events. This incident follows a similar altercation at the French Open in May, where a video emerged showing Jodar nearly running into a ball girl. Despite the controversy, Jodar has shown remarkable progress, moving from a ranking of No. 168 in December 2025 to currently sitting just outside the ATP Finals field.
Written by urgent.news from Front Office Sports's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
