Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva continues to apologize amid a wave of backlash for her unsportsmanlike behavior at the Tokyo tennis tournament. US Openwhere fans were left with the impression that the Russian-born tennis player had humiliated a ball girl during her third-round defeat.
Putintseva, 29, issued a second apology on social media Wednesday as criticism continued to mount over the awkward interaction when she appeared to ignore the ball girl during the second set of her 6-3, 6-4 loss to Jasmine Poalini from Italy SATURDAY.
Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan reacts during a match against Jasmine Paolini of Italy in the third round of the US Open tennis championships on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Visibly frustrated, Putintseva stood still as the ball girl threw her two balls. tennis balls, letting each one bounce off her before finally attempting to catch the third.
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Fans considered this moment disrespectful and humiliating for the girl. Putintseva apologized, saying she was upset by her performance.
However, in a second apology, she turned her attention to her critics and denied doing “anything disrespectful.”
“It’s a little scary the way [the] The world can judge someone from just a 3 second video that someone posts on one side, without seeing the rest. [of] “What was really going on,” she wrote in an Instagram post. “I was just playing tennis and lost a tough match, which was very close (in my opinion) to turning the tables.”
A ball girl runs towards the court on day 10 of the 2024 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 4, 2024 in the Flushing neighborhood of Queens, New York City. (Luke Hales/Getty Images)
YULIA PUTINTSEVA CRITICIZED FOR HUMILIATING US OPEN BALL GIRL PLAYER IN SICK INTERACTION
She included two photos that she said show her emotions at the time.
“After the match (as you can see in the photo) I was very disappointed and I was almost in tears, because I had not done better. At that moment, the girl was [giving] me the ball, which I hadn’t even noticed or almost, because I was lost in my thoughts…”
“I wasn’t trying to humiliate her (or anyone else) by not taking that ball that was given to me. I didn’t do anything disrespectful to anyone at that particular moment. I apologize if that girl thinks it was something directed at her.”
Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan reacts during a match against Jasmine Paolini of Italy in the third round of the US Open tennis championships on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
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Putintseva said the girl, whom she identified as Kate, was “very kind” and that she was working to do “something special for her.” She added that she never considered herself superior to anyone.
“I can’t say I’ve been perfect throughout my career. I get angry on court, I get upset, I talk nonsense and I swear like there’s no tomorrow,” she continued. “But I’ve never put myself above anyone. That’s just not me at all. I hope you can see it in a different light now. I mean, I know that [haters] I’m going to hate…”
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