Rafael Jodar was left perplexed by a question he was asked in his press conference following his shock first round hammering at the 2026 US Open.

No 12 seed Jodar was dismantled 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 by 124th-ranked lucky loser Bu Yunchaokete on Wednesday in a match that stunned the tennis world.

The opening round contest was meant to be played on Tuesday, but it was postponed until Wednesday due to rain, and Jodar was initially due to face Thanasi Kokkinakis — who withdrew due to injury.

The Spaniard was broken seven times, and he did not create a single break point on his 24-year-old Chinese opponent’s serve.

The 19-year-old star was seen as a dark horse at the US Open given his sensational form since the start of the clay-court season.

Here is everything Jodar said in his post-match press conference.

Q. Could you explain how you’re feeling on goal and why you weren’t able to bring your best today?

JODAR: He played better than me. And that’s the reason why he won today. Physically good. Yeah, that’s it. That’s how the match went. He played better than me. So he deserved to win today.

Q. But did you feel a lot worse than you normally do in terms of your feel on the ball and the way you were playing today?

JODAR: Well, that’s secondary. I mean, I tried to give my best today. It wasn’t meant to be today. So, yeah. I had a good season overall. So, yeah, it’s going to be, yeah, some time to recover and to think about this tournament and what I can learn from that.

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Q. You waited a long time to play this match and then also had to deal with the rain delay. How did you kind of manage the mid-match break today?

JODAR: Just the best way possible. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy because I was waiting a lot yesterday and today as well. But it is what it is.

We cannot control the rain. So it’s for both players.

Q. It’s your first year and you’ve played a lot of matches. Is it starting to… Does it accumulate for you in terms of… Are you getting tired at all throughout these months? Because you’ve gone deep in a lot of tournaments.

JODAR: No, no. It’s not getting tired for me.

Q. I’m sure you’ve probably seen online throughout the year some people talking about how your shoelaces break and things like that. And I’m just wondering, are you more aware now of how you’ll just be perceived online depending on what you say?

JODAR: What’s the question? And then the laces didn’t break today. So the question. What is the question? I don’t know. I don’t know the question.

Q. No, sorry. I’m sure when your shoelaces were breaking, I’m sure you noticed a lot of people were talking about it online. And I’m just wondering, are you worried that if you talk about your physical condition, people might think you’re making excuses?

JODAR: Doesn’t make sense.

Q. I think from the outside, a result like this looks like a big surprise because of your form this year. For you, how do you sort of accept a loss like that?

JODAR: Well, the match has just finished, so I don’t really know what can improve and what I should do for the next time. But yeah, I mean, I’m new in the tour. It’s going to be, there are going to be things like this because I’m new, so just try to learn from it. And so it doesn’t happen again. First time can happen to anyone. You know, we are humans. So, the second time it would be bad if I haven’t learned from this one.

Q. Were you more prepared for the match with [Thanasi] Kokkinakis, or did it have nothing to do with this?

JODAR: Well, I prepare for myself, to prepare for a good match. And the things I can control, I didn’t know the rival would be different. But well, in the end, everyone plays very well here. So it’s not an excuse. And well, I always think about myself and what I can prepare for the first round of the tournaments.

Q. Rafa, you said he has played better. Why do you think you haven’t been able to give your tennis? Offer your tennis. What feelings have you had since the beginning of the match?

JODAR: I don’t know right now. The truth is that I just finished the match and it’s very recent. But well, there will be time in the next few weeks to analyse the match and see the things I can improve and not make the same mistakes. But right now, I can’t tell you anything.

Q. Rafa, when the match stopped due to the rain, how did you try to win the strategy or what did you try to find to try to turn things around? What did you think?

JODAR: Well, I thought the match was not over, that until you don’t lose the last point, you can come back. And well, I started a little better after the rain. But well, it was already very difficult and the match ended quickly. So I didn’t…

Q. Rafa, what plans do you have now, at the end of the season, if you more or less know the schedule you will have?

JODAR: No, right now I don’t know the schedule. In the next few days we will see. I will talk to my team and we will see what the best decision is.

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