Alex Brotherton
Piers Morgan slammed tennis star Yulia Putintseva after she 'humiliated' a ball girl during a US Open match.
On Saturday, August 31, Putintseva was eliminated in the third round of the US Open with a 3-6, 4-6 defeat to fifth seed Jasmine Paolini.
The Kazakstani star, ranked 30th in the world, was understandably frustrated with her performance. However, she attracted widespread criticism with the way she vented that anger at one of the ball girls.
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Down 2-4 in the second set having already lost the first, Putintseva cruelly stood and starred at a ball girl who was attempting to return balls to the player.
Putintseva let the first two balls the girl threw to her bounce of her, prompting boos from the crowd inside the Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York.
The 29-year-old forced the girl to through her a third ball, which she decided to catch.
To the girl's credit, she remained calm and followed the correct procedure when offering new balls to players.
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Nobody was impressed by Putintseva's behaviour, not least Piers Morgan. The British TV presenter took to X to slam the tennis star, writing: "Disgusting arrogance by @PutintsevaYulia - the ball girl should have thrown the 3rd one in her taunting face."
Tennis legend Boris Becker posted: "Who does Putintseva think she is … Terrible behaviour towards the ball girl !!!"
Putintseva later apologised for her actions, insisting that she had been frustrated at herself.
"I want to apologise to the ball girl for the way I was, when she was giving me balls,” Putintseva wrote on her Instagram story.
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"Honestly speaking it was not about her. I was really 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’s going on and who gives me the ball.
"All the ball kids was doing amazing as always at the Open."