Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva was forced to issue a public apology following her third round loss to Jasmine Paolini after she was slammed on social media for a disrespectful interaction with a U.S. Open ball girl.
Video on social media showed the awkward moment Putintseva appeared to give the ball girl a cold shoulder during the second set of the 6-3, 6-4 loss on Saturday.
A visibly frustrated Putintseva stood motionless as the ball girl tossed her two tennis balls, letting each one bounce into her before finally making an attempt to catch the third.
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The interaction immediately drew fierce boos from the crowd, and an even fiercer reaction on social media.
"Everyone should equally respect ball kids. They are also working hard. Respect," one person wrote in a post on X.
"Completely disrespectful behavior, she is a horrible role model," another added.
"You can tell a lot about a person's character by how they treat those below them," another post read.
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The criticism prompted Putintseva to post an apology on her own social media.
She explained that her anger was directed at her own performance and that she was "deep in my thoughts" when the awkward exchange took place.
"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 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."
Putintseva’s U.S. Open journey ended in the third round following a loss to Italy’s Jasmine Poalini. She moves on to the Round of 16, where she will face Karolina Muchova.
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