‘Nobody likes you’: Tennis storm erupts over player’s gesture

The so-called “most hated player in tennis” has been involved in another controversial incident after appearing to make a sarcastic gesture.

A night of big tennis drama has been overshadowed by a fiery farewell handshake at the Bad Homburg Open in Germany.

On a night where Carlos Alcaraz claimed his fifth title of the year with a victory over Jiri Lehecka in the final of the Queen’s Club Championship and Alexander Bublik won the Halle Open, it was a heated moment between Maria Sakkari and Yulia Putintseva that has created the most headlines.

Sakkari was at one point heard telling her opponent” nobody liked you” after she claimed victory in their first round match.

Former world No. 3 Sakkari came through a tight encounter, winning 7-5 7-6, The Sun reports.

But there was none of the usual respect and warmth at the handshake at the net following match point.

They did clasp hands but there was clearly some underlying tension.

And when Putintseva, 30, did not give eye contact as she extended her hand out, Sakkari took exception.

You can watch the fiery exchange in the video player above.

How it started. Photo: Sky Sports.

Yulia Putintseva pretended to bow. Photo: Sky Sports.

The 29-year-old Greek made a comment as her defeated opponent walked towards the umpire.

And that led to a spectacular bust-up, with Kazakhstani Putintseva sarcastically curtsying for the winner.

According to tennis fans on social media, Sakkari taught Putintseva a lesson in tennis etiquette by saying: “When you shake hands you look the other person in the eye”.

Both player shook hands with the chair umpire whilst their war of words continued.

Sakkari walked over to Putintseva’s chair and made her feelings clear about the petulant behaviour and Putintseva snapped back.

The courtside microphones appeared to pick up the world No. 86 telling Putintseva to “act like a human being”.

Yulia Putuntseva bent the knee again. Photo: Sky Sports.

Maria Sakkariwaved to the crowd. Photo: Sky Sports.

Putintseva then reportedly told Sakkari to “go f*** herself” as the umpire tried to calm things down, chipping in: “Ladies, please.”

But her rival’s comment lit the fuse for Sakkari who confronted Putintseva again and told her: “Nobody likes you.”

World No. 27 Putintseva then picked up her racquet bag and towels before bowing in front of Sakkari as the feud escalated.

Quizzed about the drama in her on-court interview, Sakkari joked: “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.”

The incident sparked plenty of talk among tennis fans on social media, with Putintseva doing herself no favours to shake off her reputation as the most disliked player on the Tour.

Winners are grinners. Photo: Sky Sports.

She was the female player at the centre of a scandal for her bizarre tantrum towards a ball girl at the US Open in 2024.

One fan wrote: “Sakarri not putting up with Putintseva’s antics and says that’s why nobody likes you. You don’t mess with Maria Sakkari!”

Another said: “The most annoying and unlikeable player on the WTA Tour. It’s shameful that a female would behave the way she does.”

A third added: “That was so unnecessary from Maria. That’s not a national news that Yulia’s handshakes (especially after losing) are usually cold. If she wants to behave like that just leave her alone.”

And a final user commented: “Nothing wrong with a bit of passion. We don’t want robots. Wouldn’t want this at every match obviously.”

Elsewhere, Marketa Vondrousova ended the run of Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu to land the Berlin WTA title, igniting dreams of a second Wimbledon victory next month.

Back in London, McCartney Kessler clinched the first grass-court title of her career as the American beat Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska in the Nottingham Open final on Sunday.

Originally published as ‘Nobody likes you’: Tennis storm erupts over player’s gesture