Controversial tennis star Yulia Putintseva could not hold back the tears after she was brutally knocked out of Wimbledon in the first round.
The Russian-born star, who switched allegiances to earn Kazakh funding, failed to win a single game against World No12 Amanda Anisimova on the very first day of the competition.
Putintseva, who has a poor reputation within the sport, was ruthlessly beaten 6-0 6-0 in a match that only lasted for 45 minutes.
With the double-bagel looming ahead of what turned out to be the final game of the match, the 30-year-old could be seen crying into her towel.
Her embarrassment was then compounded as the impressive Anisimova roared through the 12th game of the match in just four minutes to complete a rare feat.
Putintseva then took no time at all to dash off the court, while her American opponent has booked herself a date with Renata Zarazua in round two, which will be played on Wednesday.
Controversial star Yulia Putintseva broke into tears during a first round loss at Wimbledon
The 30-year-old buried her face in a towel as she faced the propect of the unwanted ‘double bagel’
Putintseva failed to win a single game in a humiliating loss to American Amanda Anisimova
The statistics from the demolition do not read well for the disputatious star – who beat former World No1 Iga Swiatek on the way to the fourth round at Wimbledon last year – as she won just 21 points in comparison to Anisimova’s 51. She also only hit one winner throughout the contest.
The humiliating defeat comes just one week after Putintseva was embroiled in a heated row with Maria Sakkari following their third-round match at the Bad Homburg Open in Germany.
Having shaken hands at the net after winning 7-5, 7-6, Sakkari vented her fury at Putintseca after the Kazakh refused to look her in the eye during their exchange. Sakkari was heard telling her opponent ‘nobody likes you’.
But the hot-headed Kazakhstani then upped the stakes as she appeared to tell Sakkari to ‘go f***’ herself and to leave her alone, gesturing for her to move away.
Much of the spat wasn’t audible because of the music being pumped out around Centre Court, but a riposte from Putintseva led Sakkari to follow her to her bench.
Sakkari eventually walked away but returned again just seconds later, appearing to say, ‘F****** hell, I’m what?’ She then clearly told Putintseva: ‘Nobody likes you!’
The Greek instructed Putintseva to look into her opponent’s eyes when shaking their hand after a match before the umpire stepped in, saying: ‘Ladies, please.’
Putintseva delivered a sarcastic sweeping bow in Sakkari’s direction, saying ‘thank you very much’, and the argument continued even as she made her way off the court.
Putintseva was involved in a heated row with Maria Sakkari at an event in Germany last week
Sakkari followed Putintseva to her bench and was overheard telling her: ‘Nobody likes you’
She appeared to have taken exception to Putintseva’s handshake over the top of the net
It’s not the first ugly moment that the Kazakh has been involved in – far from it – as last year she was widely criticised by pundits during a defeat to Jasmine Paolini at the US Open.
Two balls were thrown towards Putintseva ahead of a serve during the battle, but footage showed her ignoring both of them while just staring at the ballgirl unmoved.
That left the youngster in an awkward position before Putintseva caught the third ball and resumed the match when she was down 4-2 in the second set.
Putintseva was loudly booed and twice apologised for her ‘terrible behaviour’, insisting she was ‘p***ed’ at herself rather than the ball girl.
‘It’s kind of scary the way the world can judge someone from just a three-second video, that someone posts from one side, without seeing the rest on what was really happening,’ she wrote on social media.
‘I was just playing tennis and lost a tough game, which was very close (in my opinion) to turn that match around.
‘After the game (as you can see on a pic) I got very much disappointed and was almost crying, that I didn’t do better.
‘At this time the girl was giving me the ball, which I didn’t even notice or so, because I was deep in my thoughts…
Putintseva was also involved in a spat during the US Open last year after ignoring a ball girl’s attempts to throw the balls towards her, letting them hit her and bounce away
Putintseva did not acknowledge the ball girl as she eventually caught the third ball
‘I was not trying to humiliate her (or anyone) by not taking this ball that she was giving to me.
‘I didn’t do anything disrespectful to anyone at this particular moment. I do apologise, if this girl thinks that it was something towards her. (And btw her name is Kate, very nice girl, which understood that it was nothing towards her).
‘I can’t say that I am perfect all my career. I am getting angry on court, p***ed, saying stupid stuff and curse like no tomorrow sometimes. Guilty for that. But I did never put myself “on top” of someone. That’s just not me at all.’
