French Open star Rafael Jodar under fire again for brutally snubbing young mascot… days after ball girl ‘shove’ sparked fury
Spanish tennis star Rafael Jodar has gone viral for the wrong reasons once again after brutally snubbing a young mascot at the French Open, just two days after he was accused of shoving a ball girl.
Jodar, the No 27 seed in Paris, was at the center of fierce controversy on Friday when footage emerged of him appearing to push a ball girl out of his way at Roland-Garros.
After the clip sparked outrage online, he strongly denied pushing the girl in his postgame press conference, instead claiming that she simply got her feet tangled in the court cover and the angle of the video was misleading.
Yet roughly 48 hours later, Jodar has again come under fire for ignoring a young female mascot as he made his way out to play in the fourth round on Sunday.
The girl was seen holding her hand out as the 19-year-old emerged from the tunnel ahead of his game against fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno, but instead of taking her hand he simply walked straight past her.
Fans were left heartbroken for the mascot, with Jodar drawing some furious criticism over the snub on social media.
Spanish tennis star Rafael Jodar has gone viral again after appearing to snub a young mascot
Jodar, 19, was forced to deny that he shoved a ball girl at Roland-Garros earlier this week
‘Another bad look,’ one concluded on X.
‘Every day he’s more of an a**hole!’ claimed another user.
A third put: ‘He gives me a bad person energy. Sorry. Not likable at all’.
While another fan wrote: ‘Honestly, this is worse than the ball girl incedent [sic]’.
Fortunately for the young girl, she did eventually get a handshake from Jodar while standing at the net for the pre-match coin toss.
The teenage sensation went on to book his place in the French Open quarterfinals by fighting back from two sets down to defeat Carreno (4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2).
Earlier this week, Jodar first ignited fury when a viral clip appeared to show him pushing a ball girl out of his way.
During his third-round win against USA’s Alex Michelsen, he was seen throwing a bottle of water to someone in his box at Roland-Garros before the girl suddenly walked across his path as he went to head backstage for a bathroom break.
Footage of the teenage sensation appearing to shove the ball girl sparked outrage on Friday
She lost her footing momentarily before regaining her balance. It was unclear if there was any contact as Jodar also appeared to be gesturing to the person in the box — who he said was his father — with his left hand at the same time as he passed by the girl.
‘I didn’t touch her,’ he stressed when asked about the clip. ‘No, no, no. I could never do that.’
‘I didn’t push her or anything. I was telling my dad to give me the things that he was going to give me after a toilet break when I was coming back,’ Jodar explained.
‘She was in the middle, so I think she was trying to get out of the way. She was going backwards, but I think she, like, fell, but not because I push(ed) her.’
Jodar said the ball girl got her feet tangled in the court cover.
‘It was right behind her. So when she was walking backwards, she fell with that,’ he said. ‘I appreciate all the work that the ball kids are doing. I know it’s difficult with the heat and the conditions to stay there, so I appreciate. I could never, you know, push a ball kid.’
