A tennis player has been heavily booed by a crowd after "humiliating" a ball girl during her US Open match.
On Saturday (August 31), Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva went head-to-head with Italy's Jasmine Paolini at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in New York.
The 29-year-old was down 4-2 in the second set when she was spotted interacting with an unnamed ball girl.
Footage of the pair's interaction went viral on social media as it showed Putintseva appearing to blatantly ignore the young girl as she attempted to perform her role and toss the balls to her while on serve.
Watch the moment below:The shocking clip revealed Putintseva allowing the first ball to bounce off her while appearing to stare directly at the ball girl. She then looked down at the second ball as it hit her foot and bounced off to the side.
The frustrated tennis star then caught the third ball before picking up the other two and turning away.
The shocked youngster was left in an awkward position and stood there with her hands in the air before running out of the way.
The crowd was also stunned by Putintseva's act and booed her.
One viewer shared a video of the moment, adding in the caption that Putintseva "should have been thrown out of the competition" as "a young girl [was] humiliated in the stadium and on TV".
A second shared a similar comment, which read: "I would ban Yulia Putintseva from the US Open tennis in future. Respect and manners cost nothing."
A few famous faces also weighed in on the interaction. Boris Becker, a German former world No. 1 tennis player, criticized Putintseva on X, writing: “Who does Putintseva think she is … Terrible behavior towards the ball girl !!!”
Piers Morgan also took to social media and hit out at the athlete's "disgusting arrogance," adding: "The ball girl should have thrown the third one in her taunting face."
Three-time Grand Slam doubles champion Rennae Stubbs also chimed in: "The disrespect and obnoxious behavior here is unbelievable and typical from her."
After the online backlash, Putintseva offered an apology to the ball girl in a since-expired post on her Instagram Stories.
“I want to apologize to the ball girl for the way I was when she was giving me balls,” she wrote. “Honestly speaking it was not about her.
"I was really p**sed 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," she explained. "All the ball kids were doing amazing as always at the open."
Paolini ended up winning the game 6-3, 6-4, and went into the fourth round.
