Yulia Putintseva has never been one to shy away from drama. At the US Open 2024, the Kazakh star found herself in hot water after a bizarre exchange with a ball girl during her second-round clash against Italy’s Jasmine Paolini. After losing a point, Putintseva had what many perceived as an awkward or dismissive interaction with the ball girl, which instantly drew the ire of the Flushing Meadows crowd. Though she later apologized on Instagram, in the immediate aftermath boos echoed through the stadium, and the backlash spilled online, where none other than six-time Grand Slam champion Boris Becker called her out on X for her behavior.  Fast forward to this week, and Putintseva is making headlines once again: this time, for a fiery post-match confrontation with Maria Sakkari.

On Sunday, she faced Greece’s Maria Sakkari in the opening round of the Bad Homburg Open. The match itself was a tense affair, with Sakkari, entering the tournament as a wildcard, edging out Putintseva 7-5, 7-6. But it wasn’t the scoreline that had fans buzzing. At the net during the customary handshake, the two exchanged sharp words. Sakkari appeared visibly frustrated, accusing Putintseva of avoiding eye contact. The tension boiled over when Sakkari walked away, saying, “No one likes you.”

Late in the second set, tensions escalated when Putintseva challenged a call, asking for a replay. The chair umpire overruled the original decision and awarded a critical break to Sakkari. The controversial call swung the momentum, adding fuel to an already testy encounter and setting the stage for the tense handshake.

This was the fourth meeting between the two, and with her latest win, the former World No.3 now leads their head-to-head 3-1. Putintseva came into the WTA Bad Homburg Open after a grass-court swing marked by inconsistency. She kicked things off with an emphatic 6-2, 6-2 win over teenager Hannah Klugman in the Round of 32 in Nottingham. But in the very next round, she suffered an upset at the hands of Rebecca Sramkova; a result that derailed her rhythm and exposed some of the same grass-court vulnerabilities that have haunted her in the past.

With the win, Maria Sakkari now advances to the second round, where she will face the winner of the match between Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova, the eighth seed, and Swiss star Belinda Bencic.

Interestingly, Bad Homburg seems to be a magnet for controversy whenever the Greek player is around.

When Maria Sakkari was booed at Bad Homburg

Just last year, Maria Sakkari found herself in hot water during her opening-round match against Germany’s Jule Niemeier. Things were going smoothly at first. Sakkari dominated the opening set and looked poised to wrap things up quickly. But Niemeier came storming back to take the second set, and in the decider, things turned chaotic.

With Niemeier leading 2-1 in the third set, Sakkari appeared on track to level the score as she took a 40-15 lead in the fourth game. But the tide shifted when Niemeier challenged a line call that initially went in Sakkari’s favor. Upon review, the ball was ruled in, and the point went to the German. Sakkari immediately went to the chair umpire to argue that she had brushed the ball aside and that it wasn’t a legitimate return. The umpire disagreed, saying he saw the ball slice over to Niemeier’s court and counted it as a valid point.

Frustrated and visibly upset, the former World No. 3 accused the umpire of favoring German players throughout the tournament. The crowd in Bad Homburg did not take kindly to her claims and booed her loudly. Ultimately, Niemeier capitalized on the moment and went on to win the match.

Two years in a row, two controversies, and one constant: Maria Sakkari never backs down from a battle. Will she find calmer waters in the next round, or is Bad Homburg set for another chapter of on-court theatrics?