Maria Sakkari, Yulia Putintseva have heated post-match moment before Wimbledon
There is no love lost between Maria Sakkari and Yulia Putintseva.
The tennis rivals got into a heated argument after facing off at the Bad Homburg Open in Germany on Sunday, with Sakkari saying to Putintseva: “Nobody likes you.”
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The incident began when the pair shook hands following Sakkari’s 7-5, 7-6 (6) win in the first round of the tournament, a grass court tune-up for Wimbledon.
There were clear tensions during the clash, and Sakkari was seemingly furious that Putintseva did not look her in the eye while shaking hands and said something to her opponent about it.
That initiated a vigorous back-and-forth, with Putintseva offering Sakkari an incredibly sarcastic curtsy.
As both players went to shake hands with the umpire, Sakkari told Putintseva she should’ve made eye contact “like a human being,” to which a clearly frustrated Putintseva replied: “I was a human being – look at yourself.”
Sakkari walked over to Putintseva’s bench and inaudible arguing ensued, with Sakkari eventually muttering “f–king hell” and then repeating “nobody likes you” after some more back and forth.
Finally, the umpire butted in, saying, “Ladies, please,” before Putintseva eventually left the court.
It’s unclear what prompted the no-look handshake from Putintseva, a 30-year-old from Kazakhstan, or if the whole situation was a major overreaction from Sakkari, a 29-year-old from Greece.
“I don’t think she’s going to invite me for dinner for the rest of our lives, but I don’t care,” Sakkari said afterwards to the on-court interviewer. “I have very good friends and I’ll go to dinner with them. Let me leave it here, and just say that I have respect for her as a player, but that’s it.”
Sakkari has been ranked as high as the world No. 3 by WTA, and she is currently ranked No. 85. Putintseva is ranked No. 34.
“By the way — not that I care — I shook her hand as most women do,” Putintseva posted over a photo of herself on an Instagram Story. “Clearly not according to the ‘hugging protocol’ some men seem to follow.”
Sakkari will play Ekaterina Alexandrova in the next round as she gets ready for Wimbledon, which kicks off June 30.
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