The controversy of Jódar and the shoelaces resurfaces at the Laver Cup

Only 3 games in the Laver Cup have been needed by Rafael Jódar to reignite the controversy with the laces of his shoes. In his debut in the competition, the Spanish player is facing Alexander Bublik in a very tight match, and while trying to reach a drop shot, he encountered a setback that forced him to change shoes.

😅 Jódar's laces are more nervous than he is...

😬 The Spaniard is having shoe problems again without having completed two games#LaverCup pic.twitter.com/0lvrWEqEE5

— Eurosport.es (@Eurosport_ES) September 25, 2026

It is not the first time that something similar has happened to Jódar, nor will it be the last. In the ATP Cincinnati, he experienced a strong collision in his comeback against Denis Shapovalov because his laces broke on two occasions in the third set, which caused frustration for the Canadian tennis player. It had happened to him before, even in matches he was winning, and it is due to his sliding style on the court. Although he had gone several matches without experiencing a similar case, his debut in the Laver Cup has marked the return of such a talked-about controversy. 

Cobolli and Mensik help Jódar with his laces

Obviously, Jódar had to pause the match for several minutes, while the captain of 'Team Europe' Yannick Noah told him to take his time. While Jódar changed his shoes, Flavio Cobolli was the one in charge of fixing the other ones, while Jakub Mensik asked him if he needed others for the rest of the match. Surreal scenes.

What has been made clear is that Rafa does not do this to annoy his opponents by any means, as it has now happened to him at the beginning of the match without a clear advantage for either player. Therefore, issue settled, except for the fact that he will need to find a solution so it doesn't happen so often.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, La polémica de Jódar y los cordones reaparece en la Laver Cup