"Boos weren't loud enough" - Yulia Putintseva's 'poor' behavior with ball girl during US Open disappoints journalist

Yulia Putintseva misbehaved with a ball girl and got booed by the crowd during her third-round match at the 2024 US Open against Jasmine Paolini. Tennis journalist Jon Wertheim slammed the Kazakh for her actions and said the boos were not loud enough.

Putintseva took on Paolini in the third round of the US Open on Saturday, August 31. The Kazakh lost the first set and trailed 2-4 in the second.

She was to serve next and the ball girl stood in front of her to hand her the balls, as is the norm. Putintseva seemed distant, staring blankly at the ball girl offering her new balls. She made a half-hearted gesture for the ball and did not attempt to catch it when she was thrown one.

The process repeated and the crowd caught up with what was unfolding. Loud boos could be heard on the court as Putintseva finally caught the third ball with reluctance before picking up one of the earlier balls from the ground.

30th seed Putintseva won two more games but her Italian opponent picked up a comfortable 6-3, 6-4 victory to advance into the fourth round.

A video of Putintseva's misbehavior with the ball girl was reposted on X by journalist Wertheim. He expressed his disappointment and wrote:

"Those boos weren’t nearly loud enough….so, so poor, this"

Putintseva, however, offered an apology to the ball girl on social media after taking time to reflect on her actions.

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"I was really pissed at myself" - Yulia Putintseva apologizes to ball girl following her US Open 2024 3R exit

Yulia Putintseva at the 2024 US Open. (Image: Getty)

Yulia Putintseva took to her Instagram Story to apologize to the ball girl for her misbehavior. The World No. 32 said she was 'deep' in her thoughts and could not focus on what was happening in front of her.

"I want to apologize to the ball girl for the way I was, when she was giving me balls. Honestly speaking it was not about her. I was really pissed at myself by not winning the game from the break point," Putintseva wrote.

"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... all the ball kids were doing amazing as always at the Open," she added.

After getting the better of Putintseva in straight sets, Jasmine Paolini will face Czech Republic's Karolina Muchova in the fourth round of the US Open.