US Open star Yulia Putintseva has issued a grovelling apology after being accused of ‘terrible behaviour’ towards a ball girl in her US Open defeat to Jasmine Paolini.
The 29-year-old was booed by the crowd at the Louis Armstrong Stadium after appearing to snub a ballgirl.
The youngster threw three balls in the direction of Putintseva.
Yet the tennis star ignored the first two and stared back at the ball girl, sparking jeers around the ground, before catching the third and turning away.
US Open star Yulia Putintseva has issued a grovelling apology after being accused of ‘terrible behaviour’ towards a ball girl in her US Open defeat to Jasmine Paolini
REUTERS
Boris Becker was unhappy with her antics and took to X to say: “Who does Putintseva think she is…
“Terrible behaviour towards the ball girl !!!”
Feliciano Lopez, who is the director of the Madrid Open, also blasted the Russian-born Kazakhstani by saying: “Shame on her!!!
“Humiliation of a ball kid is the last thing you do on a tennis court..”
Putintseva, who was the 30th seed, was beaten in straight sets by Paolini.
With her hopes of US Glory now over, she’s fronted up and apologised for her actions.
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“I want to apologise to the ball girl for the way I was, when she was giving me balls,” she said on her Instagram story.
“Honestly speaking it was not about her.
“I was really p***ed off at myself for not winning the game from the breakpoint and then got 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.
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Ugly moment in the Putintseva vs Paolini match at the US Open.
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.
(via @MerThomp)pic.twitter.com/WaVzNcbb6R
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) September 1, 2024
“All the ball kids was doing amazing as always at the Open.”
Putintseva has now received a huge $215,000 in prize money after reaching the third round.
Paolini is now set to go up against Karolína Muchová in the third round of the tournament later today.
US Open star Yulia Putintseva was beaten by Jasmine Paolini over the weekend
REUTERS
Putintseva first appeared at a Grand Slam back in 2012.
She is yet to advanced beyond the quarter-finals, however.
The 29-year-old made the last eight of the French Open in 2016 and 2018.
And she also made the quarter-finals of the US Open in 2020, with no fans present in the stands that year due to the coronavirus pandemic.