Who is Yulia Putintseva, the Kazakh tennis star who was booed at US Open for ‘terrible behaviour’ towards ball girl

Mistreating ball kids is something that tends to draw the ire of the spectators in a tennis matches and a Kazakh star got a taste of that during the US Open. Yulia Putintseva lost 6-3, 6-4 to Italian sixth seed Jasmine Paolini and her awkward interaction with a ball girl after losing a point led to the Kazakh being booed by the crowd in Flushing Meadows. Moreover, the wave of criticism continued online with six-time Grand Slam winner Boris Becker slamming her on X.

In the clip that has gone viral on social media, Putintseva can be seeen facing the crowd, awaiting the ball girl to pass on the ball to her – only she never really responds to her favourably. As two balls came bouncing towards Putintseva, she motionlessly watched them go off court. She eventually caught hold of the third ball coming her way and picked the other two as well that had previously bounced off.

The ball girl was equally stunned by the interaction with her hands in the air. Simultaneously, the loud boos erupted from the crowd.

Who is Yulia Putintseva?

Putintseva, 29, was born in Moscow and is based in the Russian capital and in Florida, USA, but represents Kazakhstan. She was introduced to tennis by her father and was soon practising at Spartak Tennis Club in Moscow. She then moved to Paris to attend the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy after winning an Under-14s event. Putintseva was succesfull in the junior circuit, rising up to a career-best ranking of of No. 3 on 21 May 2012.

She had turned pro in 2009 at the age of 14 and has a career-best senior ranking of 27 which she achieved on February 6, 2017. She has reached the quarterfinals of the US Open in 2020 and the French Open in 2016 and 2018. These remain her best finishes in Grand Slams. Putintseva was part of the Kazakhstan side that won the team event bronze at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games.

Putintseva’s apology

The 29-year-old apologised for her behaviour in a post on her Instagram story. “I want to apologise to the ball girl for the way I was, when she was giving me balls,” she said in her statement. “Honestly speaking it was not about her. I was really pissed at my self 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 whats going on and who gives me the ball…

“All the ball kids was doing amazing as always at the open (hand-heart emoji),” she said.