Tennis player Yulia Putintsevawasbooedfor her unprofessional treatment of aball girlat theUS Open. The Kazakhstani star was losing the first set and going 4-2 down in the second against Italy’sJasmine Paoliniwhen she blatantly ignored the young girl.
Avideocirculating on X (formerly known as Twitter) shows the girl attempting to pass a ball to Putintseva before her next serve, but the ball hits her torso and bounces away.
HighlightsYulia Putintseva was booed for ignoring a ball girl during her US Open match against Jasmine Paolini.The video of Putintseva’s actions sparked outrage on social media, with prominent figures condemning her behavior.Putintseva later apologized on Instagram, attributing her actions to frustration over losing the game.
Putintseva also ignored the girl’s second attempt, letting the ball hit her feet and roll away as she stood still on the court.
The 29-year-old ultimately caught the third ball without acknowledging the girl.
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Tennis player Yulia Putintseva was booed for blatantly ignoring a ball girl during a match at the US Open
Image credits:yulia_putintseva
The ball girl was seen shaking her head as she returned to her position after Putintseva moved back to the baseline.
Paolini (No. 5) defeated Putintseva (No. 32) with a 6-3, 6-4 victory on Saturday (August 31).
The video of the moment sparked outrage when it was shared on X. Former World No. 1 Boris Becker condemned Putintseva’s defiant attitude, writing, “Who does Putintseva think she is… terrible behavior towards the ball girl.”
Putintseva was losing to Italy’s Jasmine Paolini when she refused to catch the first few balls that the ball girl had passed to her
Retired AustralianplayerRennae Stubbs also used her social media platform to criticize Putintseva. “The disrespect and obnoxious behavior here is unbelievable and typical of her,” she wrote.
Image credits:@MerThomp
“They treat these people subhuman, and it’s high time they handle this accordingly. Sick of this,” one of them wrote.
“No excuse to treat people like this, especially a kid on a summer job who’s probably nervous to begin with. Glad Paolini dispatched her,” said another.
An additional user called for a “verbal warning” for the player regarding this type of behavior. “Do it again and cop a code violation. She needs to grow up.”
“Players should be fined hundreds of thousands of dollars for bad behavior. They will stop doing this. Money is the only language,” another proposed.
The 29-year-old stood still as the tennis balls hit her body and rolled away, and the crowd expressed their disapproval of her antics
Others said they wouldn’t have been able to keep their composure as well as the ball girl did. “Oh, I would have dropped all those balls and walked away from her.”
“Bravo for the attitude of the young tournament worker, who maintained her professionalism,” a separate netizen chimed in.
Putintseva later apologized to the ball girl via Instagram, attributing her behavior to the sour feeling of losing the game.
“I want to apologize to the ball girl for the way I was when she was giving me balls.
“Honestly speaking it was not about her. I was really pi**ed off at myself for not winning the game from the breakpoint and then got [so] empty with my emotions and deep in my thoughts that I was not even focusing on what’s going on and who gives me the ball.
“All the ball kids was [sic] doing amazing as always at the Open.”
Watch the video below:
@PutintsevaYuliabeing a grownup today when losing to@JasminePaoliniat@usopen.@TheTennisLetter@andyroddick@BenRothenberg@josemorgadopic.twitter.com/Ythdc8cbYV
— Meredith Thompson (@MerThomp)August 31, 2024
Putintseva, who was born in Moscow, switched to representing Kazakhstan in June 2012 because she felt slighted that the Russian Tennis Federation had not granted her a wild card into the previous year’s Kremlin Cup, as per theNew York Times.
This professionaltennistournament was held annually in Russia until 2022, when it was suspended in light of theRussian invasion of Ukraine.
“I have a great relationship with Kazakhstan at the moment, but, I mean, life is long,” she said.
“You never know what’s going to happen. So, at the moment, I’m happy with what I have, but anything can change.”
Putintseva later apologized to the ball girl on social media, attributing her behavior to her frustration over losing the game
In 2019, thetennis playermade headlines when she showed the middle finger to the crowd at the Australian Open.
At the same tournament, Putintseva shook opponent Barbora Strycova’s hand too firmly after winning the first-round game against her.
“I like to squeeze [people’s] hands normally, but she squeezed me, like, hardcore!” the Czech player said after the incident.
Her defiant attitude drew criticism from tennis legend Boris Becker, who condemned her “terrible behavior” online
During a 2011interviewwith theTimes, Putintseva discussed how she deals with the obstacles that each game presents.
“I think I’ve started to do better now handling — not the pressure, but when things are not going in the right direction,” she said.
Venus Williams, who has defeated Putintseva in four out of the five matches they’ve played, described her as a “fighter.”
“She’s a tough player; she’s really hungry,” Williams said. “I feel like she gives 200 percent on every single point. She’s a fighter.”
People slammed Putintseva’s behavior on social media, saying the tennis player had left her manners at home
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