Tennis
Yulia Putintseva Issues Public Apology For Her ‘Terrible Behaviour’ Towards Ball Girl At The US Open
Cai is a news and features writer that specialises in football, but has experience covering a variety of other sports, including darts, basketball, American football, MMA, boxing, and more. He holds a degree in Football Journalism (BA Hons) from the University of Derby, and worked with Nottingham Forest FC and Burton Albion FC throughout his studies. Cai also has experience working in social media with the Football Association of Wales, where he worked on a freelance basis, and has also been an accredited writer in the JD Cymru Premier for both Y Clwb Pêl-Droed and welshfootie since the 2019/20 season.
Get to know Cai Parry betterPublished02 Sep 2024
Yulia Putintseva has taken to social media to issue a public apology for her ‘terrible behaviour’ towards a young ball girl in the third round of the 2024 US Open.
Kazakh tennis star Yulia Putintseva has issued an apology on her Instagram account after she was videoed poorly treating a ball girl as she was eliminated by Jasmine Paolini in the third round of the 2024 US Open.
The video shows the young ball girl throwing two balls towards Putintseva ahead of her next serve, but for the 29-year-old to completely blank her and allow the balls to roll away.
Putintseva eventually grabbed a ball at the third time of asking, leaving the ball girl in what looked to be an incredibly awkward situation, while the crowd turned against world No. 32, booing and whistling her as the match got back underway.
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
Tennis fans and pundits from around the globe were shocked by Putintseva’s behaviour on the court, with many taking to social media to condemn her actions.
This includes former US Open champion Boris Becker, with the German posting on X (formerly Twitter): “Who does Putintseva think she is… Terrible behaviour towards the ball girl!!!”
Outrage from the tennis community prompted a response from Putintseva, as she issued a lengthy public apology for her behaviour on her Instagram account.
She posted: “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*sed at my self 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 was doing amazing as always at the open.”
Putintseva was eliminated from the tournament 6-3 6-4 by Paolini in the third round, one round off matching her best ever US Open quarterfinal finish in 2020. It was, however, an improvement on her first and second round exits in 2021, 2022, and 2023.