PARIS: Spanish player Rafael Jodar said he did not push a ball girl out of his way during his third-round win against American Alex Michelsen at the French Open on Friday.
Footage of the incident, which came between sets, appeared on social media but seemed inconclusive. Jodar had just thrown a bottle of water into his box with his left hand when a ball girl suddenly walked across his path.
“I didn’t touch her,” he said. “No, no, no. I could never do that.”
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 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 after the match. “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.”
The 27th-seeded Jodar won 7-6 (2), 6-7 (5), 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 to make the fourth round at a major for the first time.