Rafael Jodar’s shoelaces are back in the headlines after this ongoing issue reared its ugly head during his Laver Cup debut.
The Spaniard has enjoyed a remarkable rise up the rankings this year, with Jodar rocketing up from just inside the top 200 to being on the cusp of the top 10.
That has earned him a Team Europe call-up at this year’s Laver Cup in London, with the 20-year-old pitted against Team World’s Alexander Bublik on Friday night.
But in just the third game of the match, the former French Open quarter-finalist had to go back to his chair as his shoelace appeared to break once again.
😅 Los cordones de Jódar están más nerviosos que él…
😬 El español vuelve a tener problemas con sus zapatillas sin haber completado dos juegos#LaverCup pic.twitter.com/0lvrWEqEE5
— Eurosport.es (@Eurosport_ES) September 25, 2026
This has been a recurring issue for Jodar this summer, with Denis Shapovalov losing his temper at his repeated shoelace changes during their Cincinnati Open clash in August.
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In that match, the Canadian was a break up in the third and final set but Jodar’s shoe problems led to a stoppage in play and he was able to come back and secure the victory.
This also happened at the Canadian Open and the Washington Open and now, it has occurred at the Laver Cup, something that many tennis fans were rather exasperated by.
On X, one person tweeted, “Not Jodar with the broken shoelaces gimmick even at the Laver Cup,” and another commented, “Broken shoelace AGAIN for Jodar.”
Someone else wrote, “Such a bad publicity for Adidas, yikes,” and another put, “No way Jodar is playing the shoelace card already…”
Finally, another person posted, “I wonder if in 2027 Jodar will have some new shoes that protects his laces. This is getting stupid every match. Obviously not doing it on purpose but maybe Adidas can look into some Kevlar shoelaces, Lol.”
When Jodar was asked about his shoelaces and the growing backlash against him on social media following his first round loss at the US Open, he snapped back at the reporter and moved on to the next question.
It didn’t affect Jodar in the slightest, though, as he took the first set 6-2 against Bublik.
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