“Who does Yulia Putintseva think she is"; "Shame on her" - Boris Becker, Rennae Stubbs, slam Kazakh's "terrible" behavior toward US Open ball kid

Boris Becker, Rennae Stubbs, and Feliciano Lopez have slammed Yulia Putintseva for her behavior toward a ball kid during her third-round match against fifth seed Jasmine Paolini at the 2024 US Open.

Coming into Flushing Meadows, Putintseva had scored a huge upset against Coco Gauff at the Cincinnati Masters, following which she kicked off her campaign at the US Open as the 30th seed. She defeated Linda Noskova in the first round and then eliminated Wang Xinyu to reach the third round, where the Kazakh was beaten comfortably by Paolini 3-6, 4-6.

During her third-round match, a controversial moment occurred when the 29-year-old, waiting for the ball kid to give her balls to serve, let the ball girl toss the balls toward her without catching them. This moment with the ball kid and Putintseva resulted in many from the tennis fraternity reacting with anger.

Rennae Stubbs, Boris Becker, and Feliciano Lopez were among those who slammed Yulia Putintseva for her behavior, on X (formerly Twitter).

Stubbs had strong words for the Kazakh's behavior, calling it "unbelievable":

"The disrespect and obnoxious behavior here is unbelievable and typical from her," Stubbs tweeted.

Boris Becker, meanwhile, said that Putintseva's behavior towards the ball girl was "terrible":

"Who does Putintseva think she is … Terrible behaviour towards the ball girl !!!" Becker tweeted.

Feliciano Lopez said her act led to "humiliation" for the ball kid:

"Shame on her!!! Humiliation of a ball kid is the last thing you do on a tennis court.." Lopez tweeted.

Many fans have also criticized Putintseva for her behavior following the incident.

---

"I want to apologize... honestly speaking it was not about her" - Yulia Putintseva issues apology amid backlash

Yulia Putintseva (Image Source: Getty)

Yulia Putintseva took to Instagram to issue an apology for her behavior following her third-round loss. She said that her actions had nothing to do with the ball kid, and stemmed from her failure to convert a break point.

"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.

Putintseva said she was so deep in her thoughts that she couldn't focus, and appreciated the ball kids at the US Open.

"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," Puntintseva added.

Putintseva's third-round finish in 2024 was her best at the US Open since her quarterfinal run in 2020.