Maria Sakkari progressed to the second round of the Bad Homburg Open on Sunday after a 7-5, 7-6(6) win over Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva, but the match ended in a tense post-match altercation.
Despite a routine handshake, tensions escalated between the players after the match, with Sakkari accusing Putintseva of poor sportsmanship, telling her to “act like a human being.”
Not Maria and Putintseva almost got into a fight at the net 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/yEaUF4AYNi
— Camille (@tenniscamfr) June 22, 2025
Putintseva responded angrily, allegedly swearing and gesturing at Sakkari to leave. Sakkari followed her opponent to her bench and was overheard saying, “Nobody likes you.”
The umpire intervened as the argument continued, with Sakkari insisting players should make eye contact during handshakes. Putintseva responded with a sarcastic bow and walked off court while still exchanging words.
Sakkari, a wildcard entry ranked No. 86, will next face either Ekaterina Alexandrova or Belinda Bencic in the WTA 500 event in Germany.
 win over Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva.){kind=link}