Kazakh tennis player Yulia Putintseva once said: “I’m like a gangster on court, but like an angel off court.”
The comment, reported by the Women’s Tennis Association in 2022, was emblematic of Putintseva’s fiery on-court demeanor, which has propelled her to some big wins over the years.
But take out frustrations on a member of the ball crew, as Putintseva appeared to do at this year’s U.S. Open? That’s taboo in tennis circles, and players cross the line at their peril when social media is the judge.
Moscow-born Putintseva, 29, has been the target of withering online criticism since her dismissive treatment of a ballgirl during a 6-3, 6-4 loss to Jasmine Paolini of Italy in Louis Armstrong Stadium in New York on Saturday.
Video of the incident shows the world No. 32 standing virtually immobile as the ball crewmember, her hands aloft as her training dictates, bounces one ball and then another toward the player. Putintseva lets the balls bounce off her, suggesting indifference or even disdain. Putintseva nonchalantly catches a third ball before walking off to resume play. Some in the crowd start to boo and whistle while watching the uncomfortable encounter.
“Who does Putintseva think she is … Terrible behaviour towards the ball girl !!!” Boris Becker, who won six Grand Slam singles titles, said on X.
“Shame on her!!! Humiliation of a ball kid is the last thing you do on a tennis court,” said retired Spanish player Feliciano López (who once accidentally clocked a ball boy in a sensitive area with one of his big serves).
Putintseva issued an apology on social media to the ball crewmember, saying “it was not about her” and that she was upset with herself for failing to win the previous game during the match, according to Sports Illustrated and other media. Some online pundits panned the apology, saying it should be made in person.
It was a fraught exit from the last Slam of the year for Putintseva, a Florida resident who switched from representing Russia to Kazakhstan in 2012 and has received support from the Kazakhstan Tennis Federation. She was on the Kazakh Olympic team, which later said she pulled out of the Paris games because of injury.
Putintseva has won three WTA singles titles, including on grass in Birmingham this year, and notched wins over some of the best in the game – Naomi Osaka in the Wimbledon first round in 2019, top seed Coco Gauff in Cincinnati this year, and No. 1 Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon, also in 2024.
There are rigorous guidelines for ball crews at the majors. At the U.S. Open, anyone 14 years or older can apply for the job and the average age of a ball crew member is about 21.
Ball teams sometimes contend with intense heat on court and balls flying at high speed in their direction. Tournament winners often thank the ball crews in trophy speeches. Some champions were once ball kids.
“At heart, I’m always going to be a ball boy,” Roger Federer told TennisTV in 2019.
