Yulia Putintseva is serving up an apology.
The tennis player said she’s sorry for the way she acted towards a ball girl at the 2024 US Open.
The viral moment occurred during Putintseva’s match against Jasmine Paolini on Aug. 31. As seen in videos shared on social media, a ball girl supplied the 29-year-old with tennis balls so she could serve. But after the ball girl threw her a ball, Putintseva didn’t move and just let it bounce to the side. So, the ball girl tried again. However, the same thing happened. It wasn’t until the ball girl’s third throw that Putintseva caught the ball and proceeded to play.
The athlete received criticism for her behavior—both from the crowd (who could be heard booing in the videos) and from social media users.
“I feel bad for the ball girl,” one user on X, formerly known as Twitter, wrote on Sept. 1, “I can’t believe yulia had this attitude.” Added another, “So rude and disrespectful!”