Yulia Putintseva has apologised for repeatedly treating a ball girl with contempt while being passed balls for a service game at the US Open.
Putintseva was on her way to a straight-sets third-round defeat against Jasmine Paolini on Saturday when she took out her frustration on the blameless youngster.
With Putintseva a set and 4-2 down, the girl attempted to throw balls towards her before she took serve.
But the Russia-born player from Kazakhstan made no attempt to catch or pick them up, instead glaring at the girl with her arms down by her side.
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
She eventually did catch one, prompting jeers from the Flushing Meadow crowd and condemnation on social media, with Boris Becker posting on X: “Who does Putintseva think she is … terrible behaviour towards the ball girl !!!”
Three-time Grand Slam doubles champion Rennae Stubbs also wrote: “The disrespect and obnoxious behaviour here is unbelievable and typical from her.”
Putintseva posted on social media after her defeat to say sorry, writing: “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 p—– 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.
“All the ball kids was [sic] doing amazing as always at the Open.”
Footage of the incident showed the ball girl returning to her station with a wry smile and shaking her head about what had just occurred.
Putintseva, who reached the quarter-finals in 2020, won just two more games as fifth seed Paolini cruised through to the fourth round courtesy of a 6-3, 6-4 victory.
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