Yulia Putintseva is once again courting controversy after calling a linesperson unprofessional during her first round at the Adelaide International, which ended with her and opponent Laura Siegemund refusing to acknowledge each other at the net.
The Kazakh star defeated Siegemund 6-4, 6-4 in the opening round of the WTA 500 event on Tuesday night.
ALSO READ: Murray believes Thiem would not have won the US Open if…
Though a straightforward win, it wasn’t without controversy.
In the second set, Putintseva disputed a line call which she believed went against her. The 26-year-old argued it with the chair umpire Miri Bley.
Umpire Miri Bley did not like Putintseva saying the line umpires are not professionals. #AdelaideInternational pic.twitter.com/Crs6zTJelV
— Tennis GIFs 🎾🎥 (@tennis_gifs) February 23, 2021
“They are not professional, they only come from here, they don’t travel with the tour,” she could be heard saying.
Sharpen your forehand with our FREE guide
She was given a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct. “Be careful what you say Yulia. This is a professional tournament, with professional people,” Bley replied.
Putintseva then irked her opponent Siegemund as she took a long break towards the end of the match to fix a shoelace. The feuding duo refused to touch racquets at the net after the final point.
ALSO READ: New TV ratings low for Australian Open men’s final
Putintseva was one of the unpopular players during the quarantine ahead of the Australian Open. The room she was staying in, in a luxury hotel in Melbourne ahead of the major, apparently had a mice infestation.
The Kazakh player put up videos of rodents in her room. Though she was given a different room, the problem apparently continued to persist.
ALSO READ: Novak Djokovic injury update, ‘The tear is bigger’
The Australian health department was not too happy about Putintseva airing her frustration on social media and said that one explanation for it could be that players were feeding the mice.
