Tennis star slammed for humiliating ball girl in viral video from U.S. Open

'Who does Yulia Putintseva think she is ... Terrible behaviour towards the ball girl'

Published Sep 02, 2024  •  2 minute read

Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan reacts against Jasmine Paolini of Italy during their Women's Singles Third Round match at the 2024 US Open. Getty Images

When you’re having a rough day, it’s never nice to take it out on someone just trying to do their job.

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Tennis star Yulia Putintseva did just that during her third-round match at the U.S. Open on Saturday and has been facing the backlash for it – first from the crowd, and now on social media.

During her eventual loss to Italy’s Jasmine Paolini, Putintseva felt the need to humiliate a ball girl who was simply trying to give her some fresh tennis balls.

The 29-year-old pro stood on the court and faced the crowd when the ball girl looked to get her attention. After Putintseva made a gesture with her hand, the ball girl bounced two towards her, which the Kazakh simply let bounce off her chest and then foot.

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As the crowd began to boo the lack of sportsmanship, Putintseva caught a third ball bounced in her direction before retrieving one of the first two.

The ball girl appeared to be shocked by the situation and stood with her hands outward before running to the side of the court.

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Paolini went on to win in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, making Putintseva a loser in more ways than one.

Boris Becker, a former world No. 1 tennis player, slammed Putintseva on social media for her behaviour.

“Who does Putintseva think she is … Terrible behaviour towards the ball girl !!!” Becker wrote on X, including a video of the moment.

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“Tremendous effort from the ball girl to raise her arms and hold her position, bravo,” Gilbert posted in response to a post calling Putintseva “disrespectful.”

“I know frustration can happen to any players, but ball persons should never ever get dissed, since so many former players were a ball kid, as well.”

Putintseva has since issued an apology on Instagram Stories, explaining that her emotions got the best of her.

“I want to apologize to the ball girl for the way I was, when she was giving me balls,” Putintseva wrote. “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, 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.”

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Putintseva, a three-time major quarter finalist, achieved her career-high singles ranking of world No. 27 in February 2017. She has won three singles titles on the WTA Tour and was ranked 30th in this year’s draw for the U.S. Open.

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