Rafael Khodor insulted ball boy at tournament in Shanghai
15 october 2026 в 05:50
Spanish tennis player Rafael Hodar found himself at the center of a new scandal during a match at the Shanghai Masters on October 14. He made an obscene remark towards a ball, demanding a towel: «Give me the damn towel!»
Chair umpire Jimmy Pinoargote immediately issued a warning to Hodar for inappropriate behavior. When the tennis player expressed confusion about the warning, the umpire replied: «I can’t repeat that, you know what you said. We don’t talk to them like that». Hodar, in turn, stated: «We've been playing for an hour and ten minutes, he leaves for a second, I say something, and you’re already giving me a warning. This is unbelievable, you’re really not on the court».
This incident occurred after Hodar was accused in May of pushing a ball girl at the Roland Garros tournament when he was returning from the restroom. It was later shown that he did not make contact with the girl, who appeared to stumble while trying to get out of his way. Hodar claimed at a press conference: «I didn’t touch her. I would never do that. I didn’t push her or anything like that».
In July, Hodar also faced criticism when he accidentally hit a ball girl with his racket at Wimbledon. The girl returned his racket, but he did not show gratitude for the gesture. At the Citi Open, a ball accidentally hit Hodar, and he looked at it disapprovingly while spectators behind him began to laugh.
Despite the incident, Hodar won against Botic van de Zandschulp and advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament, where he will meet Norwegian Casper Ruud on October 16.
Chair umpire Jimmy Pinoargote immediately issued a warning to Hodar for inappropriate behavior. When the tennis player expressed confusion about the warning, the umpire replied: «I can’t repeat that, you know what you said. We don’t talk to them like that». Hodar, in turn, stated: «We've been playing for an hour and ten minutes, he leaves for a second, I say something, and you’re already giving me a warning. This is unbelievable, you’re really not on the court».
This incident occurred after Hodar was accused in May of pushing a ball girl at the Roland Garros tournament when he was returning from the restroom. It was later shown that he did not make contact with the girl, who appeared to stumble while trying to get out of his way. Hodar claimed at a press conference: «I didn’t touch her. I would never do that. I didn’t push her or anything like that».
In July, Hodar also faced criticism when he accidentally hit a ball girl with his racket at Wimbledon. The girl returned his racket, but he did not show gratitude for the gesture. At the Citi Open, a ball accidentally hit Hodar, and he looked at it disapprovingly while spectators behind him began to laugh.
Despite the incident, Hodar won against Botic van de Zandschulp and advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament, where he will meet Norwegian Casper Ruud on October 16.
© Artemenko Olga
