Julija Putintseva behaved strangely towards the ball girl at the US Open.
The last tennis grand slam tournament of the season, the US Open, saw a special case on Saturday.
Women’s third round of Kazakhstan Julia Putintseva lost to Italy To Jasmine Paolini 0–2 (3–6, 4–6). However, the biggest talking point was how Putintseva behaved towards the ball girl in the second set.
The player waited for the balls looking bored. When the ball girl got the balls in her hands and started offering them to Putintseva, Putintseva just stared at her. The ball girl threw one ball at a time as normal to a player who didn’t catch them. The balls hit Putintseva and bounced on the surface of the court. He only caught the third one and then picked up another ball from the ground to pass.
There was some laughter from the audience at first, but then it started booing the player.
Putintseva’s behavior was condemned on social media. For example, the tennis account The Tennis Letter considered the action “ugly”. A tennis legend Boris Becker comment on the video about the incident.
– Who does Putintseva think she is… Horrible behavior towards a ball girl! Becker wrote.
Many posts marveled at the player’s lack of respect and arrogance. On the other hand, the ball girl gets praised in several messages for doing her job without gestures and for not panicking in the situation.
Putintseva published a message on the subject in the stories section of Instagram later.
– I want to apologize to the ball girl for how I was when she gave balls. Honestly, it wasn’t about him. I was really frustrated with myself when I didn’t win a game where I had a breaking ball.
Putintseva writes that after the missed breaking opportunity, she got lost in her own thoughts and was unable to focus on what was happening and who was giving her the balls.
– All the ball girls did a wonderful job, as always.
Julija Putintseva has been ranked 29th in the world at her best. Now she is ranked 32nd. She has earned almost eight million dollars in her career and won three titles on the WTA tour. In Grand Slams, he has progressed to the quarterfinals at best.
Putintseva was born in 1995 in Moscow. He moved to represent Kazakhstan in 2012.
Paolini, who is ranked fifth in the world, will meet in the quarterfinals Karolina Muchovan. Paolini has been seen in the finals of both Wimbledon and the French Open this season, but the first major title is still waiting.