Rafael Jodar says he ‘is not perfect’ after apologising for his behaviour towards a ball boy during his quarter-final match at the Shanghai Masters.
The Spanish rising star received a code violation from the umpire after he was heard saying ‘Give me the bloody towel, for fuck’s sake!’ towards one of the ball boys early on in the second set after losing the opener. Jodar then argued with umpire Jimmy Pinoargote over the penalty, protesting his innocence despite the comment being clearly heard. He claimed the ball boy wasn’t listening to him.
Two days after the controversy, which will result in a fine, Jodar broke his silence on the matter after beating Casper Ruud 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to reach the semifinals and becoming the youngest player to reach the last four in the event’s history.
“It was my mistake. After the match, I thought about it, and I shouldn’t have done that to the ball kid,” he said.
“I respect the ball kids a lot 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.”
Elaborating further, the 20-year-old blamed his outburst on being frustrated with dropping the opening set against Botic van de Zandschulp. He has won four matches in a row after dropping the opening set in Shanghai.
“I was very frustrated because of how the match was going for me,” Jodar explained.
“I didn’t mean to hurt the feelings of the ball kid or anything, I was just frustrated with myself. I couldn’t control my emotions at that point of the match.
“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 their job a lot, and it wasn’t anything against him, any ball kid, or the umpire.
“I should have accepted the warning that I got because it was totally right and the umpire made the right decision.”
Jodar hasn’t been in contact with the ball kid since the match, but he added that he’d like to apologise if they cross paths.
As for his conduct, the Spaniard told the media he is ‘learning how to behave on the court.’ In other matches, he has also been criticised for how he shows his frustration between points and during changeovers.
“I am 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.” He said.
“There’s still a lot of things where I have to behave, so I’m not perfect. I’m a human, I make mistakes, so I’ll learn from this mistake to not do it again in the next one.”
Jodar is 10-2 against Top 30 players since the start of July and is currently ninth in the PIF ATP Race to Turin.
