Rafa Jódar apologizes and acknowledges his mistake: "I was wrong, I was frustrated"

Rafa Jódar continues to advance in an ATP Shanghai 2026 where he has already made history. He is the youngest semifinalist since this tournament became part of the ATP calendar; he keeps racking up milestones in his first year as a professional, shattering any barriers or limitations from the public. He achieved this after defeating a tough Casper Ruud, who fell victim to the speed of the Spaniard’s shots, especially returns that landed close to the lines and a backhand that is now truly solid.

It was an extremely important date for Rafa and a test of fire to measure his mental strength, not only for what happened today on the court but also for what we experienced a couple of days ago. The famous incident with the ball boy remained in the spotlight for many hours and triggered the anger of many fans on social media, who demanded an apology from Rafa for his behavior and even labeled him a bad person. The player from Leganés surely knew he would be asked about it, and his reaction was quick.

❌ Brutal cabreo de Jódar: "¡Dame ya la p*** toalla!" 🎾 El tenista madrileño dejó en Shanghái una desagradable imagen con un recogepelotas y el árbitro Jimmy Pinoargote tuvo que mediar y ponerle un 'warning' 📹 Vía Tennis TV https://t.co/BYujWeK5ug

— Diario SPORT (@sport) October 14, 2026

Rafa Jódar talks about the incident with the ball boy and apologizes

The player from Madrid knew that this topic would likely dominate the first questions of the press conference: the public's reaction was swift, the criticisms were warranted, and Rafa, after not commenting on social media, patiently awaited his opportunity to explain what happened and share his perspective. He did so without holding back and taking responsibility for a scene that should, in his view, not have occurred.

"I would like to explain what happened. I made a mistake. I thought about it after the match: I shouldn't have done that to the ball boy. It was my mistake. I have all the respect in the world for ball boys and referees in every match and every tournament. I should not have treated the ball boy the way I did. I was very frustrated with how the match was going. I had just played a very tight point. I didn't want to make the ball boy feel bad, not at all, I was just frustrated with myself. I couldn't control my emotions at that point in the match. 

It was my mistake, and I will try not to make it again because that is not the right way to treat ball boys. I have great respect for their work; I held nothing against him or any of them or the chair umpire. After what I did, I should have accepted the warning because he was completely right, and I know the referee did his job well."

With this, an episode is closed, the repercussions of which, it must be noted, were not felt today on the court: the Madrid player played an excellent match to come back and overwhelm Ruud, weathering the storm in the middle of the second set and managing, through the return, to speed up the pace and trap Casper in his web. Many were questioning whether the episode with the ball boy would have any mental influence on Rafa today; nothing could be further from the truth, we saw a focused Jódar on each shot, without anything distracting him from his focus.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Rafa Jódar pide perdón y reconoce su error: "Me equivoqué, estaba frustrado"