Yulia Putintseva, a professional tennis player from Kazakhstan, has responded after a video of her behavior towards a ball girl went viral on social media.
On Saturday, August 31, Putintseva faced off against Italian player Jasmine Paolini during the third round of the US Open finals at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in New York.
However, it wasn’t her gameplay that captured online attention but rather her interaction with a ball girl.
Meredith Thompson, a Twitter user, shared the video of Putintseva’s interaction with the ball girl, captioning it: “@PutintsevaYulia being a grownup today when losing to @JasminePaolini at @usopen.”
The video depicts Putintseva standing at the edge of the court, swinging her racket at her feet. When a ball girl bounces a ball towards her, Putintseva does not move to catch it, simply allowing it to bounce past her. This occurs a second time, with Putintseva again making no effort to catch the ball, leaving the ball girl awkwardly waiting.
On the third throw, Putintseva finally catches the ball and moves back to continue the game.
People quickly criticized Putintseva’s behavior.
One commenter stated: “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.”
Another added: “Completely disrespectful behavior, she is a horrible role model.”
A third user commented: “Who does Putintseva think she is …Terrible behaviour towards the ball girl !!!”
And a fourth noted: “Shame on her!!! Humiliation of a ball kid is the last thing you do on a tennis court..”
Following the backlash, Putintseva took to social media to apologize for her actions.
In an Instagram Stories post, which has since expired, she apologized to the ball girl for “the way [she] was when she was giving [her] balls.”
She explained: “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.”
Paolini went on to win the match 6-3, 6-4, advancing to the fourth round.