Jódar, sanctioned with a warning: "Give me the damn towel!"
Rafael Jódar has once again been the protagonist of a rather unedifying and controversial incident concerning his behavior with ball boys. After several controversies placed him in the eye of the storm as the villain of the ATP circuit, the Spaniard had been somewhat calmer for a while, but during his match against Botic Van de Zandschulp at the ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai 2026, he received a penalty from the chair umpire for verbal abuse towards a ball boy.
Rafa Jódar received a warning for addressing the ball boys in the following manner: "Give me the damn towel already." The context is that the ball boys were taking longer than usual, and Jódar was risking a time violation warning. I do not justify his words, but as soon as he received the warning, he began to speak to them in a much calmer and more respectful manner. We cannot judge anyone for a moment of anger, especially when he was going through a tough patch in the match.
— JODARISMO EN VENA (@no_me_jodar) October 14, 2026
Jódar will incur a financial penalty for this sanction
The situation occurred in the early stages of the second set, after the Spaniard watched helplessly as he let the first set slip away in the tiebreak due to small details. He was trying to break his opponent's serve and after seeing a break point slip away by mere centimeters, he demanded a towel from a ball boy in a very rude manner, later arguing that they were taking too long throughout the match.
The umpire told him that he understood his frustration, but that he could not speak in such terms, and sanctioned him with a warning, which entails a financial penalty for Rafa. From that moment on, social media went ablaze highlighting one of those isolated behaviors that the Spaniard will have to correct, which do not reflect the reality of his character but harm his personal image.
(Give me the damn towel, we have been playing for an hour and you're not listening to me) JODAR 🗣️🙊 https://t.co/6uZju0rGn3
— Manu (Apuestas) ® (@Manu_Cepeda1) October 14, 2026
This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Jódar, sancionado con un warning: "¡Dame la puta toalla!"