Kazakhstan’s tennis star Yulia Putintseva is being slammed after she humiliated a ball girl during her match against Italy’s Jasmine Paolini during the US Open over the weekend.
The embarrassing moment occurred when the ball girl tossed Putintseva two tennis balls. However, the tennis pro just let them bounce off of her. She acknowledged the second ball after it bounced off her foot. Putintseva caught the third ball before picking up the other two and going back to the match.
The ball girl appeared shocked and confused by Putintseva. She even stood with her hands in the air before running off the court.
It didn’t take long for critics to call out Yulia Putintseva for her behavior during the US Open match.
“Ugly moment in the Putintseva vs Paolini match at the US Open,” The Tennis Letter stated on X (formerly Twitter) with the now-viral video of the moment. “The ball girl tries tossing the ball and Yulia watches it bounce on the ground without moving. So many ball kids look up to these athletes. Let’s try to treat them kinder.”
Boris Becker, a German former world No. 1 tennis player, also called out Yulia Putintseva for how she acted. “Who does Putintseva think she is … Terrible behaviour towards the ball girl !!!” he wrote on X.
However, some people claim that Putintseva was talking to someone in the stands and she just didn’t notice the first two balls.
Paolini ended up winning against Putintseva in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4.
Yulia Putintseva Issues Apology After Now-Viral US Open Moment With Ball Girl
After receiving some backlash, Yulia Putintseva issued an apology for the US Open moment.
In the statement, Putintseva claimed she let her emotions get the best of her during the moment.
“I want to apologize to the ball girl for the way I was, when she was giving me balls,” Putintseva wrote on her Instagram story. “Honestly speaking it was not about her. I was really pissed at myself by not winning the game from the break point and then got empty with my emotions and deep in my thoughts.”
She then said, “I was not even focusing on what’s going on and who gives me the ball… All the ball kids was doing amazing as always at the Open.”
Meanwhile, Paolini is notably the first Italian tennis player to reach the Round of 16 at every Grand Slam event in a single year. This year, she also reached the fourth round at the Australian Open as well as the final at both the French Open and Wimbledon.