Tennis Player Catches Heat for ‘Atrocious’ Behavior Toward Ball Girl at US Open

Yulia Putintseva , a tennis player from Kazakhstan competing in the 2024 US Open , has come under fire for her reaction—or rather, lack thereof—to the ball girl passing a series of tennis balls her way during the competition.

Mark Chapman , a freelancer for the International Business Times , shared a video clip of the contentious moment to X on Monday, Sept. 2, which showed the young helper approaching Putintseva, who stood facing the wall in the corner of the court.

The ball girl held her hands up to indicate she was ready to hand over the equipment, though the player seemed not to acknowledge that she was ready to receive it. The girl bounced the first ball toward the athlete, with it smacking her torso and rolling away without a response. The second ball landed near her feet and garnered a glance while she finally made an effort to catch the third one, though there was little enthusiasm in the gesture, and it left the ball girl seeming gobsmacked over the gesture many have declared "unkind" in response, at best.

Former Tennis champ Boris Becker reshared the video , too, calling out Putintseva's "Terrible behaviour," while a fan agreed it was "Atrocious behaviour" and Piers Morgan called it "disgusting arrogance."

Following the backlash, Putintseva issued an apology via her Instagram Story, writing, “I want to apologize to the ball girl for the way i was, when she was giving me balls," sharing that it was "honestly" not about the ball girl, but the competitor's anger with herself for how she was playing.

"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 focusing on what’s going on and who gives me the ball…" she continued, concluding, "All the ball kids was doing amazing as always at the open."

Next: Tennis Player Melts Hearts While Meeting Her 'Mini-Me' in US Open Video