PARIS (AP) — 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."
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Rafael Jodar of Spain reacts as he plays against Alex Michelsen of the U.S. during their third round men's singles tennis match at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Rafael Jodar of Spain returns to Alex Michelsen of the U.S. during their third round men's singles tennis match at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
STAFFORD, Va. (AP) — A bus struck six vehicles on Interstate 95 in Virginia as traffic slowed for a work zone, killing five people and sending 34 to hospitals, state police said Friday.
The crash happened at about 2:35 a.m. on southbound I-95 in Stafford County. All five of the people who died were in vehicles hit by the bus, and three of the injured are in critical condition, police said.
“The preliminary investigation indicates that traffic was slowing southbound for an upcoming work zone,” state police said in a news release. “A bus failed to slow for traffic and struck six vehicles."
It was not immediately known what the bus was being used for or how many people were aboard.
“We’ve got patients in multiple hospitals. We’ve got the driver at a hospital here,” said Peyton Vogel, a Federal Transit Administration spokesperson who was on the scene. “I’ve got to say, this is one of the most tragic things I’ve ever seen. Absolutely tragic.”
Mary Washington Healthcare said it received 19 patients from the crash. It posted online that seven of the patients were taken to its trauma center in Fredericksburg, where four were being discharged and three remained in treatment — one in serious condition and two in critical condition. Twelve were taken to its hospital in Stafford, where they were later discharged in good condition.
The crash is under investigation and charges are pending, police said.
The National Transportation Safety Board posted online Friday that it was sending a “go-team” to conduct a safety investigation into the crash and that it would have a spokesperson at the scene.
The southbound lanes had reopened by noon Friday, but traffic was still backed up for a couple of miles, according to a state transportation advisory.
While it is too soon to say what caused Friday's crash, federal authorities have been grappling with interstate passenger bus safety issues for decades.
Following a series of passenger bus crashes in 2008 that killed 41 people, the U.S. Department of Transportation published a Motorcoach Safety Action Plan.
The NTSB investigated 16 fatal motorcoach crashes between June 1998 and January 2008, finding that driver-related problems such as fatigue, medical condition, and inattention accounted for 56 percent of the accidents. The agency said driver-related problems were responsible for 60 percent of the fatalities in those crashes.
Among the actions recommended were creation of a pre-employment driver history screening program, and a national drug- and alcohol-testing database “to enable motorcoach operators to determine if drivers have a history of violating DOT alcohol or drug rules.”
This photo, provided by the Virginia State Police, shows the scene of a fatal accident involving a passenger bus on Interstate 95 in near Quantico, Va., on Friday, May 29, 2026. (Virginia State Police via AP)
This photo, provided by the Virginia State Police, shows the scene of a fatal accident involving a passenger bus on Interstate 95 in near Quantico, Va., on Friday, May 29, 2026. (Virginia State Police via AP)
This photo, provided by the Virginia State Police, shows the scene of a fatal accident involving a passenger bus on Interstate 95 in near Quantico, Va., on Friday, May 29, 2026. (Virginia State Police via AP)
