Claim: Video purportedly shows Spanish tennis player Rafael Jodar pushing a ball girl at the 2026 French Open Tournament.
Conclusion: The claim is false. The viral clip does not show Rafael Jodar pushing a ball girl during the 2026 French Open. Video evidence from a different angle, including slow-motion footage, indicates that the ball girl, was letting the player go for a break but tripped over the court cover, and at the same time Jodar raised his hand talking to his father which shows as if he is pushing the girl. In press conference he explicitly denied any claims of touching or pushing her.
Rating: False 
Several social media users have shared a video clip and claimed that Spanish Tennis star Rafael Jodar pushed a ball girl. Verified X user ‘’jackunheard’ shared such a claim with the caption : “Tennis player Rafa Jodar SHOVES the ball girl out of the way. He should never play another tennis match again in his life. What a loser.” Attached to the post is a 3 second clip that purportedly shows Jodar pushing the girl aside. The post gained more than 8.2 million views and can be seen below –
Tennis player Rafa Jodar SHOVES the ball girl out of the way.
He should never play another tennis match again in his life.
What a loser. pic.twitter.com/h6a3RQ8H0a
— Jack (@jackunheard) May 30, 2026
Other users have shared similar claims that can be seen here and here
FACT CHECK
DigitEYE India decided to investigate this claim and found it to be false. Footage from alternate angles shows that the ball girl lost her footing after stumbling over the court cover rather than being pushed by Rafael Jodar. He also addressed the incident during a press conference, firmly rejecting allegations that he made any contact with or shoved the ball girl.
Details:
We first conducted a web search with the phrase “Rafael Jodar pushes a ball girl” to learn more about the incident. The search took us to various reports and a Youtube video uploaded by The Tennis Pass, titled : “Did He Push A Ball Girl? Jodar Responds After Being Accused! | Roland Garros 2026”. The description of the video states that “Rafael Jodar addressed the controversy that overshadowed his run at Roland Garros 2026 on Thursday, responding directly to accusations that he pushed a ball girl during a tense five-set battle in Paris.” View video/screenshot of this below –
While answering the question as to why he pushed her, at the 0:25 timestamp he says “I didn’t push her or anything.” He explained he was telling his father to prepare items after a toilet break, the ball girl was moving backward and tripped. At the 0:58 timestamp he says that the court cover was behind her, “she was walking backwards…fell with that”. When the reporter asked him again if he touched her, at the 1:21 timestamp he responded, “No, I didn’t touch her. No, no, no, I mean I could never do that”. See the video below:
(Courtesy: The Tennis Pass)
Following this, we came across a report by AP news addressing the controversy and noting that Jodar did not touch her. The report mentions how “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.” Asserting Jodar’s response, the report states that “Jodar said the ball girl got her feet tangled in the court cover.” View a section from the report below –
Lastly, we conducted a search to analyze the incident from various angles and whether there was really a contact or not. A clip in slow motion clearly shows that the girl tripped over the court cover and there was no contact with Jodar’s hand.
WATCH🚨: The internet rushing to judgment again over a clipped video 😅
It looked like Rafael Jódar pushed the ball girl, but the full shot clearly shows she tripped on her own while he was gesturing toward his box.
Context matters. pic.twitter.com/Pm9CxGm32C
— Officer Lew (@officer_Lew) May 30, 2026
Similarly, another clip in slow motion shows that the girl tripped and then Jodar was gesturing to his father with his hand.
Parece que no hay tal empujón. Hay que retractarse. Se tropieza y el ángulo de otras imágenes hace pensar que la empuja de malas maneras, con la coincidencia de que levanta la mano dirigiendo a su padre en la grada. Malos ángulos y malas coincidencias. pic.twitter.com/HfIyUjo8uB
— Gonzalo de Miguel (@Ciro2Ciro) May 30, 2026
Thus, the claim is false.
