Rafael Jodar Ignores Kid Mascot After Viral Ball Girl Push Controversy at Roland Garros

Rafael Jodar once again found himself on the receiving end of criticism. This time, for ignoring the kid mascot on Court Suzanne-Lenglen before his fourth-round match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the French Open on Sunday (May 31st).

Jodar looked super focused and walked past the kid who stood there stretching her arm for him to hold. But fans online found another reason to criticize the teenager, but many also rushed to his defense, saying he did not deliberately ignore the kid.

Watch the video here:

E o Rafael Jodar ataca novamente, dessa vez ele não foi grosso com uma criança, só ignorou a coitada ☠️ pic.twitter.com/8y4RCk5jv0

— N3SCAU + Rojão Fonseca 🎾 (@dramalandxr) May 31, 2026

From one of his matches, a video emerged where he appeared to push a ball girl to make his way. But other angles showed that Jodar was only tossing a bottle to his team and that the ball girl had slipped on the tarp.

Jodar overcame a two-set deficit to defeat Busta with scores of 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 in three hours and 41 minutes. Busta, a former World No.10 and a two-time Grand Slam semifinalist, was bidding to reach his third quarterfinal at the French Open. 

The win has made him the fifth man in this century to reach the quarterfinals of the clay-court Major on debut after Juan Carlos Ferrero (2000), Martin Verkerk (2003), Rafael Nadal (2005), Jannik Sinner (2020), and Holger Rune (2022).

Jodar made his Grand Slam debut in this year’s Australian Open and suffered a second-round defeat. Because of his quarterfinal run, the Spaniard has reached a career-best No.22 in the rankings table. If he wins the tournament, he will make his top 10 debut.

Rafael Jodar will lock horns with Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinal

Rafael Jodar has a tough challenge in front of him in the form of Alexander Zverev, who clinched a 7-6(3), 6-4, 6-1 win over lucky loser Jesper de Jong to reach the quarterfinals of the French Open for the sixth consecutive time. The win helped Sascha improve his head-to-head record over the Dutchman to 3-0.

I didn’t start off strong, and he started off really fast and really well. But once I found my rhythm, I felt very comfortable on the court, and that’s the most important thing for me. I feel like my game is there; now it’s about showing it on the match court.

Alexander Zverev said during his on-court interview

The World No.3 is now the heavy favorite to win the French Open. Two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz withdrew due to a wrist injury (and will also not be playing at Wimbledon), while last year’s runner-up Jannik Sinner succumbed to cramps and lost his second-round match despite a 2-0 lead. Djokovic also squandered a 2-0 lead and lost his third-round match to Joao Fonseca.

He’s [Jodar] a very young player, incredibly talented. He’s come on the scene this clay-court season, from being ranked outside the Top 100 to now being almost Top 20, within two months. So he’s playing incredible tennis, and it’s going to be a very difficult challenge, but I have to trust myself, and I’ll be ready for it.

Alexander Zverev added

Zverev finished as the runner-up at the 2024 French Open, losing to Alcaraz in five sets. The three-time Grand Slam finalist last won a title at the 2025 Munich Open and has played just one final this season, at the Madrid Open, where Sinner dismantled him to win his third clay-court title.

Jodar has already played a final and won it (Grand Prix Hassan II). In the first half of this quarter, Jakub Mensik will face Andrey Rublev in the last eight, while Fonseca has set up his quarterfinal match against three-time Grand Slam finalist Casper Ruud.

Also read: Fans Slam Roland Garros After Zeynep Sonmez Trips Over Advertising Sign and was Forced to Retire – “Sue Them All”