"Exactly why players shouldn't be bought" - Fans react to Yulia Putintseva joining fellow Kazakh Elena Rybakina in withdrawing from Paris Olympics

Yulia Putintseva's last-minute withdrawal from the 2024 Paris Olympics came just two days after compatriot Elena Rybakina pulled out of the prestigious event. These developments have seen Kazakhstan's hopes of tennis glory at the Games nearly crumble.

Both Putintseva and Rybakina were born Russians, but later switched nationalities due to the backing that the Kazakhstan Tennis Federation promised them. In light of these developments, fans shared their honest opinions.

Elena Rybakina announced her withdrawal from the prestigious event shortly after the draw was made on Thursday, July 25.

The 25-year-old later took to social media to tell the world that she had "contracted acute bronchitis" following the conclusion of her 2024 Wimbledon campaign. Rybakina went on to say that her doctors had "strictly forbidden" her from both training and playing.

She penned an open letter as well, which was later shared by the Kazakhstan Tennis Federation. Had Elena Rybakina played and won her first-round match, she would have faced former World No. 1 Angelique Kerber in the second round.

On Saturday, July 27, Putintseva withdrew without sharing any specific information on why she made the decision. Organizers scrambled to replace her in the singles draw, eventually doing so with New Zealand's Lulu Sun, who made waves at this year's Wimbledon after reaching the quarterfinals as a qualifier.

Unsurprisingly, fans reacted harshly to Yulia Putintseva pulling out, with one set opining that the Kazakhstan Tennis Federation should develop local players instead of facilitating the switching of nationalities for Russians.

"Exactly why players shouldn't be bought.. Homegrown players would've perhaps felt differently than Yulia & Elena!" a fan wrote.

"That's what happens when you buy players unless build them in your country," commented another fan.

"Paying for players and then they do you like this," another fan chimed in.

Another set of fans turned blatantly critical towards Yulia Putintseva and Elena Rybakina, suggesting that their Russian origins prevent them from being loyal to Kazakhstan, the nation that has been instrumental in building thriving tennis careers for the pair.

"Kazakhstan should stop sponsoring players from Russia, they don't care to represent their new colours," wrote a fan.

"Damn these Russian imports really don't care about Kazakhstan after all, not even try to win medal for themselves," another fan commented.

"Well, they’re Russians!" another fan weighed in.

Elena Rybakina was felicitated by Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev last year

Elena Rybakina (Source: Getty)

During the first quarter of the 2023 season, Elena Rybakina was arguably the best performer in women's singles tennis. At the time, she was the reigning Wimbledon champion, and had also reached the 2023 Australian Open final before falling to Aryna Sabalenka. At the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, she lifted the prestigious WTA 1000 trophy and finished as the runner-up at the Miami Open.

Following this series of successes, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev felicitated Rybakina at a formal gathering in the Eastern European nation. In return, Rybakina said:

"I will do my best to succeed at prestigious international competitions in the future."

The Kazakhstan Tennis Federation has also played an important role in furthering the careers of men's tennis players Alexander Bublik and Alexander Shevchenko, who both traveled to Paris with the Kazakh contingent. Both Bublik and Shevchenko, like Putintseva and Rybakina on the women's side, were born Russians.

While Bublik was eliminated from singles by Taylor Fritz in the first round on Saturday, July 27, Shevchenko will play his first-round match against the Czech Republic's Jakub Mensik on Sunday, July 28.