Kazakh football player Yulia Putintseva continues to apologize amid a wave of backlash for her unsportsmanlike conduct at the US Openwhere fans felt the Russian-born tennis player humiliated a ball girl in her third-round loss.
Putintseva, 29, apologized again on social media on Wednesday as criticism mounted over the awkward interaction when she punched the ball girl in the second set of her 6-3, 6-4 loss to The Italian Jasmine Poalini on Saturday.
Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan reacts during a match against Jasmine Paolini of Italy in the third round of the U.S. Open, Saturday, August 31, 2024, in New York City. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
A visibly frustrated Putintseva stood motionless as the ball girl took her two Tennis balls, She let each one bounce against her before finally trying to catch the third.
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Fans found the moment disrespectful and humiliating for the girl. Putintseva apologized and said she was upset by her performance.
In a second apology, however, she addressed her critics and denied having done “anything disrespectful.”
“It’s kind of scary how the world can judge someone based on a three second video someone posts from one site without seeing the rest of what really happened,” she wrote in an Instagram post. “I was just playing tennis and I lost a tough game that was (in my opinion) very close to turning the match around.”
A ball girl walks towards the court on day 10 of the 2024 US Open on September 4, 2024 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York. (Luke Hales/Getty Images)
Yulia Putintseva is criticized for humiliating the US Open ball girl in an embarrassing interaction
She attached two pictures which she said show her current feelings.
“After the game (as you can see in a picture) I was very disappointed and almost cried because I hadn’t done better. At that point the girl gave me the ball, which I didn’t even notice because I was deep in thought…”
“I didn’t mean to humiliate her (or anyone else) by not taking the ball she gave me. I didn’t show any disrespect to anyone in that moment. I apologize if that girl thinks it was directed at her.”
Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan reacts during a match against Jasmine Paolini of Italy in the third round of the U.S. Open, Saturday, August 31, 2024, in New York City. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
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Putintseva said the girl, whom she identified as Kate, was “very nice” and she was working on doing “something special for her.” She added that she had never felt like she was better than anyone else.
“I can’t say I’ve been perfect my whole career. Sometimes on the court I get angry, upset, say stupid things and swear like there’s no tomorrow,” she continued. “But I never put myself ‘above’ anyone. That’s just not me. I hope you can see it from a different perspective now. I mean, I know (haters) are going to hate…”
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