"It's scary the way world can judge someone" - Yulia Putintseva hits back at critics for judging her over 'one-sided' story in US Open ball girl saga

Yulia Putintseva has continued to be the center of attention after her controversial behavior at the 2024 US Open. The Kazakh landed in hot water after misbehaving with a ball girl during her third-round match in New York.

Putintseva, the 30th seed, faced fifth seed Jasmine Paolini in the third round of the 2024 US Open on August 31. The Italian, who finished runner-up at the French Open and Wimbledon in 2024, took advantage of her Kazakh opponent's lapses in concentration and frequent unforced errors to emerge victorious 6-3, 6-4.

During the match, Putintseva grew frustrated with her performance. At one point, while getting ready to serve, the Kazakh stood idly while a ball girl threw the ball in her direction. Putintseva did not catch the balls; instead, she let them hit her while she stared at the ball girl. Her behavior drew loud boos from the crowd at the Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Yulia Putintseva drew ire from tennis fans for her behavior towards the ball girl. She has since apologized for her action and recently hit back at critics for judging her on the basis of a short video. In an Instagram post, the 29-year-old said that the tennis world judged her too quickly due to a biased narrative, and she acted out in that way because of her bad performance in a close match.

Putintseva added that she was deep in thought and did not even notice that there was a ball girl. She did not intend to insult her in any way and once again apologized to her.

"Its kind of scary the way world can judge someone from just a 3 second video, that someone post from one side, without seeing the rest on what was really happening. I was just playing tennis and lost a tough game, which was very close (in my opinion) to turn that match around. After the game (as you can see on a pic) i got very much disappointed and was almost crying, that i didnt do better. At this time the girl was give me the ball,which i didnt even notice or so, because i was deep in my thoughts…," Putintseva said.

"I was not trying to humiliate her( or anyone ) by not taking this ball that she was given to me. I didnt do anything disrespectful to anyone at this particular moment. I do apologize, if this girl thinks that it was something towards her. (And btw her name is Kate , very nice girl, which understood that it was nothing towards her)."

The Kazakh acknowledged that she is not the perfect player and has often been guilty of losing her cool on the court. However, she said she would never put another person down and hoped that others would see the situation from her point of view.

"I cant say, that i am perfect all my career. I am getting angry on court,pissed,saying stupid stuff and curse like no tomorrow sometimes😂 Guilty for that. But i did never put myself “on top” of someone. Thats just not me at all. Hope you guys can see it now from the different angle now," Yulia Putintseva added.

"I mean ,i know that hates gonna hate and this message is getting way to long, so i am going to stop right here😅 And last thing , since Kate is already involved in this mess, i am trying to make something special for her🤫"

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Yulia Putintseva won her third WTA Tour title in 2024

Yulia Putintseva (Source: Getty)

Apart from her outbursts on the court, Yulia Putintseva has been playing well on the 2024 WTA Tour, winning her third WTA Tour title and making deep runs at several big tournaments. The Kazakh did not have a great start to the year, with early exits during the Australian hard-court swing.

She turned it around at the WTA-1000 tournament in Indian Wells, where she reached the fourth round, and Miami, where she did one better by reaching the quarterfinals. Yulia Putintseva won her third title on the WTA Tour at the Rothesay Classic in Birmingham after beating Ajla Tomljanovic in the final.

She continued her excellent form at the Wimbledon Championships, beating World No. 1 Iga Swiatek en route to a fourth-round finish. At the WTA-1000 Cincinnati Open, Putintseva secured a win against World No. 2 Coco Gauff and finished runner-up in the doubles category with Leylah Fernandez.