Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva was forced to issue a public apology following her third-round loss to Jasmine Paolini after she was criticised on social media for a disrespectful interaction with a US Open ball boy.
A video on social media showed the awkward moment when Putintseva appeared to treat the ball girl with indifference during the second set of a 6-3, 6-4 loss on Saturday.
Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan reacts during a match against Jasmine Paolini of Italy during the third round of the US Open tennis championships on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, in New York City. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Putintseva, visibly frustrated, stood motionless as the ball girl threw two balls at her. tennis balls, letting each one bounce back to her before finally trying to catch the third.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
The interaction immediately sparked fierce boos from the crowd and an even fiercer reaction on social media.
“Everyone should respect the ball boys equally. They are working hard too. Respect,” one person wrote in a post on X.
“This is completely disrespectful behaviour, he is a horrible role model,” added another.
“You can tell a lot about a person's character by how they treat those beneath them,” another post read.
Ben Shelton of the United States fist bumps a ball boy against Frances Tiafoe of the United States during their men's singles third round match on day five of the 2024 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 30, 2024. (Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NOVAK DJOKOVIC'S SHOCKING US OPEN DEFEAT ENDS AN INCREDIBLE 22-YEAR RUN
The criticism prompted Putintseva to post an apology on her own social media.
She explained that her anger was directed at her own performance and that she was “deep in my thoughts” when the awkward exchange took place.
“I want to apologize to the ball girl for the way I behaved when she was giving me balls. Honestly speaking, it wasn't because of her. I was really angry with myself for not winning the game from the break point and then I was so emotionally drained and so deep in my thoughts that I wasn't even concentrating on what was going on and who was giving me the ball… All the ball girls [were] “I'm doing amazing as always at the Open.”
Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan reacts against Jasmine Paolini of Italy during their women's singles third round match on day six of the 2024 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 31, 2024 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Putintseva's US Open run ended in the third round after losing to Italian Jasmine Poalini. She will now move on to the round of 16, where she will face Karolina Muchova.
Follow Fox News Digital Sports coverage on Xand subscribe to The Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
