US Open 2026 ATP Rafael Jódar

Jódar's altercation with a journalist who asked him about his shoelaces

Pedro de Pablos - 3 Sep 2026
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Jódar's confrontation with a journalist who asks him about his shoelaces. Source: Getty Images.

Rafa Jódar had a unfortunate day in his debut at the US Open 2026, where he lost to Yunchaokete Bu and could only win 4 games. As if that weren't enough, during a press conference a journalist asked him about his controversy with his shoelaces and with the image he has on social media, something that angered the Spanish tennis player. 

 

 

During the North American tour, Jódar experienced several incidents where his shoelaces broke due to his sliding style on the court, whether he was winning or losing. The most notorious case was during his comeback against Denis Shapovalov at the ATP Cincinnati, as some saw it as a waste of time and criticized him on social media. However, it did not happen at all during the US Open, yet the journalist still wanted to bring the topic up.

The controversial question that angered Jódar

“I’m sure you’ve seen online throughout the year people talking about your shoelaces breaking and things like that. I wonder if you’re more aware now of how you are perceived online based on what you say,” the journalist said. “What is the question? The shoelaces didn’t break today. So, what’s the question? What’s the question? I don't know the question,” Jódar initially responded, clearly displeased with the journalist's intent.

Still, he stood his ground. “I’m sorry, I’m sure that when your shoelaces broke, you noticed that many people were talking about it online. I wonder if you’re concerned that if you talk about your physical condition, people will think you’re making excuses, basically.” Ultimately, Jódar chose not to engage further and maintained his composure, ending the conversation with a "it doesn’t make sense" before the moderator moved on to the next question. An unfortunate situation that was unwarranted after such a loss.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, El enganchón de Jódar con un periodista que le pregunta por sus cordones