Tennis Star Yulia Putintseva Apologizes After Backlash For Her Behavior Toward Ball Girl At US Open

Tennis star Yulia Putintseva has apologized for her behavior towards a ball girl at the US Open on Saturday, Aug. 31, that went viral. As seen in video uploaded to social media, the 29-year-old was booed after appearing motionless when the ball girl threw her new balls, allowing two of them to bounce off her body before finally catching the third. The puzzling sight seemed to confuse the ball girl as well who kept her hands in the air before running back to the sidelines. Shortly after the encounter, Yulia took to Instagram to clarify her behavior. “I want to apologize to the ball girl for the way I was when she was giving me balls,” the athlete began, adding, “Honestly speaking it was not about her. I was really pissed at myself by not winning the game from the breakpoint and then 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 was doing amazing as always at the Open.”