Maria Sakkari and Yulia Putintseva were involved in a heated exchange following their opening-round clash at the 2025 Bad Homburg Open. Both exchanged sharp words after the match, making for an utterly tense moment.
In the aftermath, Putintseva hit out at Sakkari on social media, pointing to her past behavior with other players.
Yulia Putintseva Takes Aim at Maria Sakkari After Bad Homburg Incident
The first set was closely contested, with Sakkari edging it 7-5. The second set was equally tight, culminating in a tie-break. In a pivotal moment during the tie-break, a disputed call initially went in Putintseva’s favor. Sakkari challenged the decision, and the review reversed the call, awarding her the point.
Despite the Kazakh’s plea, the chair umpire stood with their decision and awarded the point to the Greek, who secured the set 7-6(6) to move into the second round. However, the tensions flared during the post-match handshake.
Neither player held back, with Sakkari repeatedly moving toward Putintseva’s side of the court as the latter responded with dramatic gestures during the confrontation. When Sakkari questioned her opponent for avoiding eye contact during their handshake, Putintseva concluded the argument by mockingly bowing to the Greek.
“When you shake hands, look at the other person in the eye,” the Greek said during the exchange.
Sakkari and Putintseva got really heated at the net omg 😳 pic.twitter.com/Wgrf10sQcu
— Owen (@kostekcanu) June 22, 2025
However, Putintseva seemingly highlighted the double standards in Sakkari’s remarks, resharing an edited clip of their argument on her Instagram story, along with photos of Sakkari avoiding eye contact with Emma Raducanu and Martina Trevisan during their post-match handshakes in the past.
Remarks like “nobody likes you” and “you’re annoying” were reportedly traded during the confrontation.
Putintseva Later Clarified Her Actions From Her Heated Exchange With Sakkari in Bad Homburg
In another Instagram story, Putintseva clarified that she did shake Sakkari’s hand like most women do on tour, joking that it didn’t follow the ‘hugging protocol’ some male players seem to prefer.
“By the way, not that I care, I shook her hand as most women do. Clearly not according to the hugging protocol some men seem to follow,” she wrote.
Thanks to her win in the first round of the WTA 500 event in Bad Homburg, Sakkari improved her head-to-head record to 3-1 against Putintseva. The 29-year-old will face Ekaterina Alexandrova or Belinda Bencic in the second round.
Sakkari continues to struggle for consistency in 2025, with no titles so far and an underwhelming 14-18 record.
