Watch: Yulia Putintseva’s Terrible Behaviour With Ball Kids At US Open 2024 Goes Viral

New Delhi: Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putinseva apologised on Saturday, August 31 after she came in for criticism following her controversial actions against a ball girl in the US Open 2024. On Friday, Putinseva, lost in the third round at Flushing Meadows as fifth seed Jasmine Paolini won 3-6, 4-6 in straight sets. After being ousted of the tournament, the Kazakhstani player’s reaction against the ball girl drew criticism, forcing to apologise over it.
It was during the contest that a viral video surfaced online showing 29-year-old Yulia Putinseva in a fuming outburst against a serene and professional ball girl. The incident happened when the ball girl kept returning the ball to Putinseva, who kept still, not responding to her, yet visibly showing her annoyance. Online criticisms were raised, which later led Putinseva to apologize.

What is going on here with Yulia Putintseva?
I love the ballgirls professionalism though! pic.twitter.com/YSFEBRrvSY
— Pavvy G (@pavyg) September 1, 2024

Putinseva, who has never passed the quarterfinals of any Grand Slam, later apologized and explained she was frustrated because she missed a breakpoint important against Jasmine Paolini. Yulia Putinseva followed up by saying praise for Jasmine Paolini-the runner-up at Wimbledon and the French Open in this year: “It’s nothing personal towards them,” Putinseva said, adding, “They do their job with a lot of responsibility, seriously and work hard.”.’
Putinseva wrote, “I want to apologise 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 focussing on what’s going on and who gives me the ball… All the ball kids were doing amazing as always at the open.”
Yulia Putinseva opened her US Open 2024 with a good 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 victory over Czechia’s Linda Noskova and defeated China’s Wang Xinyu in straight sets. However, she got off to a bad start against Jasmine Paolini, converting just two breakpoints as she lost serve four times to bow out of the tournament.
As for Paolini, she advances to face Karolina Muchova in the next round. Muchova, who moved into the headlines after the elimination of two-time champion Naomi Osaka in the second round, will be an acid test in the women’s singles competition.