Tennis star Yulia Putintseva has released a short statement on social media following her fierce row with Maria Sakkari at the Bad Homburg Open. The pair clashed after play concluded on Sunday when they came to the net to shake hands after a tense match.
Sakkari ultimately prevailed on the day, digging deep to secure a 7-5 7-6 win. The final set saw both players lead at different stages, but the Greek star managed to find her rhythm late on to put the match to bed – and she aptly celebrated the result.
However, Sakkari’s emotions appeared to infuriate Putintseva, who responded when the pair came to the net. She fumed at her rival as the pair approached one another, with the Kazakhstani player gesturing that Sakkari should leave the court before shouting ‘go f*** yourself’ and ‘leave me alone’.
After initially looking shocked by the reaction of her opponent, Sakkari appeared to question the comments before placing her fingers on her lips and gesturing for her to be quiet. With Putintseva continuing to vent her frustration, Sakkari promptly snapped: “Nobody likes you!”
The pair eventually shook hands, though the row did not stop there as Sakkari continued to tell her opponent that she lacked support in the crowd and accused her opponent of avoiding eye contact when they met at the net.
Putintseva has now taken to Instagram to address the incident, explaining that she still shook the hand of her opponent despite being angry with how the match panned out. She posted a selfie on her Instagram story with a caption which read: “By the way – not that I care – I shook her hand as most women do. Clearly not according to the ‘hugging protocol’ some men seem to follow.”
Sakkari addressed the incident during her on-court interview when she was light-heartedly asked whether Putintseva would be joining her for dinner any time soon, to which she laughed: “I don’t think she’s going to invite me for dinner for the rest of our lives.
“But I don’t care, to be honest. I have very good friends and I will go to dinner with them. Let me leave it there and say I have plenty of respect for her as a player, but that’s it.”
