The Bad Homburg Clash and Net Confrontation
The tension between Maria Sakkari and Yulia Putintseva boiled over during their round-of-16 encounter at the grass-court event in Bad Homburg, Germany. Sakkari secured a hard-fought 7–5, 7–6 (8–6) victory to advance in the tournament, but the post-match handshake immediately drew attention. According to reports from Sport1 and Web.de, Sakkari took issue with the brevity of the handshake, claiming Putintseva barely touched her hand and avoided eye contact. Putintseva responded on the court with an ironical bow, leading to a fiery exchange where Sakkari told her opponent, “Niemand mag dich” (“Nobody likes you”).
Reflecting on the incident in post-match press commitments, Sakkari maintained a blunt stance regarding their relationship. “I don’t think she will invite me to dinner, but I don’t care,” Sakkari said on the evening of the match, as reported by Web.de. “I respect her as a tennis player, but that’s it.”
Putintseva Responds on Social Media
Two days after their meeting in Germany, Yulia Putintseva returned to the digital space to address the controversy. In an Instagram story that has since expired, the Kazakh player posted a series of images showing Sakkari shaking hands with other opponents at the net. According to Web.de, the photos highlighted instances where the Greek player similarly avoided direct eye contact with opponents during traditional post-match greetings. Accompanying one of the images alongside a clown emoji, Putinzeva wrote, “The story is getting more and more complicated.”
In a separate post highlighting her own side of the net exchange, Putinzeva added further commentary regarding etiquette on tour. “By the way – not that I care – I shook her hand like most women do,” she wrote, according to Web.de. “Obviously not according to the ‘hug protocol’ that some men seem to follow.” Sakkari has not issued any further public comments on social media regarding Putintseva’s digital posts.
