The ‘ugly’ moment US Open tennis star ‘humiliated’ a ball girl and gets booed by the crowd… as Boris Becker slams her ‘terrible behaviour’ and Piers Morgan calls it ‘disgusting arrogance’
- Yulia Putintseva ignored the ball girl’s attempts to throw the ball to her
- She was loudly booed by the crowd for her actions during her third round loss
- The Kazakh player has since apologized to the girl via social media
Boris Becker has criticised a US Open player for her “appalling behaviour” towards a ball girl.
Yulia Putintseva’s frustration was clearly visible when she lost in the third round to Jasmine Paolini at the US Open.
The Kazakh player lost the first set and trailed 4-2 in the second set, with an ugly moment when a ball girl tried to throw the ball to her before she took her serve.
Putintseva stared blankly at the ball girl, her arms at her sides. She made no attempt to catch the balls, merely watching them roll away from her feet.
The 29-year-old has since apologized for her actions via social media, which prompted boos from the crowd at Flushing Meadows.
Kazakh tennis player Yulia Putintseva has been criticised for her ‘appalling behaviour’ towards a ball girl during her US Open third-round defeat to Jasmine Paolini on Sunday
Putintseva ignored the ball girl’s attempts to throw the balls towards her, causing the first ball to hit her torso (left), while the second bounced off her feet and rolled away (right).
Putintseva didn’t look at the ball girl as she caught the third ball, while the young girl held out her arms almost in disbelief at what had just happened
Former US Open champion Boris Becker has criticized Putinseva’s behavior on social media
Putintseva has since apologized for her actions via social media, saying she was “angry” with herself during the match when it happened during a three-set defeat.
Becker, who won the US Open in 1989, wrote after a video of the moment was posted on social media: ‘Who does Putinseva think she is… terrible behavior towards the ball girl.’
His tweet was in response to a tweet calling it an “ugly moment” during the match.
Piers Morgan also criticised Putin’s “disgusting arrogance” on social media.
He wrote: ‘Disgusting arrogance of @PutintsevaYulia – the ball girl should have thrown the third in her face.’
Putinseva wrote on social media after her straight-set defeat: ‘I want to apologize to the ball girl for the way I behaved when she gave me balls.
‘Honestly, it wasn’t about her. I was really pissed off at myself for not winning the match from break point and then I was so empty of my emotions and deep in my thoughts that I didn’t even focus on what was going on and who gave me the ball.
‘All the ball boys did a great job as always at the Open.’
The first ball the young girl tried to pass to Putintseva was ignored by the Kazakh player. Instead, the ball hit her torso and bounced away.
Piers Morgan has also criticised Putinseva, describing the moment as ‘disgusting arrogance’
Jasmine Paolini defeated the Kazakh player in three sets to reach the fourth round
Her second attempt to throw the ball to the player was again ignored as the ball bounced off Putintseva’s feet. The player turned her head so she could see the ball rolling away from her.
Then there were loud boos towards Putintseva, who then caught the third ball without looking at the ball girl.
Putintseva then tried to grab one of the balls she had previously ignored. The ball girl held her arms wide open in disbelief.
There was no acknowledgement of the ball girl as Putintseva returned to the baseline. Footage showed the ball girl returning to her post with an ironic smile and shaking her head at what had just happened.
Putintseva won two more games, but the fifth-seeded Paolini effortlessly reached the fourth round with a 6-3, 6-4 victory.