SHANGHAI — Rafael Jodar has issued a full apology after receiving a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct during his fourth-round win over Botic van de Zandschulp at the 2026 Shanghai Masters, when the umpire heard him swearing at a ball kid he believed was taking too long to deliver his towel. The 20-year-old Spaniard, who was heavily criticised online and is developing an unwanted reputation after previous incidents this season, addressed the controversy after defeating Casper Ruud in the quarter-finals to reach the semi-finals on his debut in Shanghai.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Jodar accepted full responsibility and said the warning was correct. “Yeah, I mean, I would like to explain that. Yeah, it was my mistake. After the match, I thought about it, and I shouldn’t have done that to the ball kid. It was my mistake. I respect a lot the ball kids and the umpires in the match, in all the matches and all the tournaments. I shouldn’t have treated the ball kid the way I did,” he said. He added: “I was very frustrated because how the match was going for me. It was a very close point. And, yeah, I didn’t mean to hurt the feelings of the ball kid or anything, I was just frustrated with me. Yeah, I couldn’t control my emotions at that point of the match. So, yeah, it was my mistake, and I’ll try not to do it again, because that’s not the right way to treat the ball kids. I respect a lot their job, and, yeah, it wasn’t anything against him or against any ball kids or umpire. After what I did, I should have, you know, accepted the warning that I got because it was totally right, and the umpire made the right decision.”
Jodar confirmed he had not yet been able to apologise in person but said he was eager to do so at the venue. “Yeah, I would like to. I would like to, yeah, to apologise to the ball kid. If I have any chance to see him here at the venue, I’ll try to tell him that I’m very sorry about my act and the way that I acted in that moment, and I’ll never do it again,” he said. He continued: “As I am, you know, learning how to do the forehand or how to do the backhand or how to do the serve, I’m also learning how to behave on the court. There are still a lot of things that I have to behave, so I’m not perfect. I’m human; I make mistakes, so I’ll learn from this mistake to not do it again in the next one.”
On the court, Jodar’s results have continued to impress despite scrutiny of his behaviour. Through to the semi-finals in Shanghai, he will face either Daniil Medvedev or Tommy Paul on 17 October as he bids to reach his first Masters 1000 final, having lost his only previous semi-final at that level in Canada this season to Brandon Nakashima 6-7, 4-6. The winner of his semi-final will meet either Alexander Zverev or Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the final on Sunday.