Kazakhstan tennis star Yulia Putintseva has become the talk of the US Open after she 'humiliated' a ball girl during her third-round loss.
The 29-year-old cut a frustrated figure after her 6-3, 6-4 defeat to Jasmine Paolini, however, it was her antics during the match that caught attention.
After the ball girl attempted to throw balls towards her before she took serve but Putintseva made no effort to catch the balls and instead stood still.
She immediately drew criticism from several prominent figures - such as men's legend Boris Becker - before apologizing for her actions in a post on social media.
While she may have asked for forgiveness on this occasion, Putintseva is no stranger to controversy on the court and, here, Mail Sport delves into her fiery past.
Before exploring the 29-year-old's history, it's important to understand what caused such controversy on Saturday afternoon.
With the Kazakhstan player losing the first set to Paolini and going 4-2 down in the second, there was an ugly moment when a ball girl attempted to throw balls towards her before she took serve.
Putintseva stared at the ball girl blankly with her arms down by her side, making no effort to catch the balls and instead just looking at them as they rolled away from her feet - which was met by boos from supporters.
The 29-year-old has since taken to social media to apologize for her actions and wrote: '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 p***ed off at myself for 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 was going on and who gave me the ball.
Piers Morgan also took to social media and hit out at Putintseva's 'disgusting arrogance'.
He wrote: 'Disgusting arrogance by @PutintsevaYulia - the ball girl should have thrown the third one in her taunting face.'
The incident has shocked many who were watching the US Open - however, those who are familiar with Putintseva will be aware of her fiery tendencies.
Back in 2022, the Russian-born star previously declared: 'I'm like a gangster on court, but like an angel off-court' after she defeated Kaja Juvan in Rome.
Having saved two match points, she dropped her racquet before letting out a mighty cry of 'Forza!' - in her typically outspoken fashion.
At the time, she explained that her upbringing had helped mold her into the player that she is today - but admitted, as a junior, there was 'too much fire' on the court.
'I knew since I was a kid. My father would tell me, 'Yulia, your temper on the court is too much sometimes.' But his temper was too much sometimes, too.
'We were both hard characters when we used to work together. But outside it was a lot of love and chill time. We never fought outside the court. But all the time on the court.
The 29-year-old cut a frustrated figure after her 6-3, 6-4 defeat to Jasmine Paolini, however, it was her antics during the match that caught attention.
After the ball girl attempted to throw balls towards her before she took serve but Putintseva made no effort to catch the balls and instead stood still.
She immediately drew criticism from several prominent figures - such as men's legend Boris Becker - before apologizing for her actions in a post on social media.
While she may have asked for forgiveness on this occasion, Putintseva is no stranger to controversy on the court and, here, Mail Sport delves into her fiery past.
Before exploring the 29-year-old's history, it's important to understand what caused such controversy on Saturday afternoon.
With the Kazakhstan player losing the first set to Paolini and going 4-2 down in the second, there was an ugly moment when a ball girl attempted to throw balls towards her before she took serve.
Putintseva stared at the ball girl blankly with her arms down by her side, making no effort to catch the balls and instead just looking at them as they rolled away from her feet - which was met by boos from supporters.
The 29-year-old has since taken to social media to apologize for her actions and wrote: '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 p***ed off at myself for 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 was going on and who gave me the ball.
Piers Morgan also took to social media and hit out at Putintseva's 'disgusting arrogance'.
He wrote: 'Disgusting arrogance by @PutintsevaYulia - the ball girl should have thrown the third one in her taunting face.'
The incident has shocked many who were watching the US Open - however, those who are familiar with Putintseva will be aware of her fiery tendencies.
Back in 2022, the Russian-born star previously declared: 'I'm like a gangster on court, but like an angel off-court' after she defeated Kaja Juvan in Rome.
Having saved two match points, she dropped her racquet before letting out a mighty cry of 'Forza!' - in her typically outspoken fashion.
At the time, she explained that her upbringing had helped mold her into the player that she is today - but admitted, as a junior, there was 'too much fire' on the court.
'I knew since I was a kid. My father would tell me, 'Yulia, your temper on the court is too much sometimes.' But his temper was too much sometimes, too.
'We were both hard characters when we used to work together. But outside it was a lot of love and chill time. We never fought outside the court. But all the time on the court.
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SportsTranscript
00:00Kazakhstan tennis star Yulia Putintseva has become the talk of the U.S. Open after she
00:11humiliated a ballgirl during her third-round loss. The 29-year-old cut a frustrated figure
00:17after her 6-3, 6-4 defeat to Jasmine Paulini, however, it was her antics during the match
00:22that caught attention. After the ballgirl attempted to throw balls towards her before
00:27she took serve but Putintseva made no effort to catch the balls and instead stood still.
00:32She immediately drew criticism from several prominent figures such as men's legend Boris
00:37Becker before apologizing for her actions in a post on social media. While she may have asked
00:42for forgiveness on this occasion, Putintseva is no stranger to controversy on the court and, here,
00:47male sport delves into her fiery past. Before exploring the 29-year-old's history,
00:53it's important to understand what caused such controversy on Saturday afternoon.