Desmond Purnell
New York — The 2024 US Open – certainly not Yuliya Putintseva’s finest hour.
During Saturday’s third round, Putintseva had her hands full while facing fifth seeded Jasmine Paolini. Putintseva appeared to have taken her frustrations out on a ball girl.
During the match, the ball girl attempted to offer Putintseva three tennis balls for her next serve. Putintseva ignored the ball kid, while letting two of the three tennis balls bounce off her without any sort of acknowledgement.
The fans at Louis Armstrong Stadium in New York observed Putintseva’s treatment of the ball girl and proceeded to boo her for the remainder of the match. Paolini went on to defeat Putintseva with a 6-3 6-4 victory.
Putintseva received a ton of backlash once the video of her awkward interaction with the ball girl went viral.
Many from the tennis world voiced their disappointment in Putintseva.
Tennis Legend Borris Becker said via “X” formerly known as Twitter, “ Who does Putintseva think she is… Terrible behaviour towards the ball girl!!!”
Following the incident, Putintseva issued an apology via Instagram.
"I want to apologize to the ball girl for the way I was, when she was giving me balls," Putintseva wrote on her Instagram stories. "Honestly speaking it was not about her. I was really pissed at myself by 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... All the ball kids were doing amazing as always at the open"
* Photo Credit - REUTERS
Have a comment or news tip for us?
Reach out and share your story.
