Watch: Maria Sakkari tells Yulia Putintseva 'nobody likes you' in tennis spat

Maria Sakkari (pictured) beat Yulia Putintseva in straight sets in the Bad Homburg Open on Sunday in Bad Homburg, Germany. File Photo by David Silpa/UPI | License Photo
June 23 (UPI) -- Maria Sakkari and Yulia Putintseva exchanged harsh words during a tense tennis tiff after their meeting at the Bad Homburg Open, with Sakkari telling the her Russian-born foe that "nobody" likes her.
The intense exchange, which was filmed by Tennis Channel, occurred Sunday in Bad Homburg, Germany. Sakkari became upset when she went to shake hands with Putintseva, who briefly touched her hand before looking away and stepping off the court.
The Greek tennis star responded to the perceived slight by voicing her displeasure toward Putintseva, who now represents Kazakhstan.
"Just be like, a human being," Sakkari said.
"I was a human being," Putintseva responded.
Maria Sakkari and Yulia Putintseva got heated during their handshake in Bad Homburg
Watch the full clip here and read more from @Tennis below https://t.co/Xi8KegqHOu pic.twitter.com/wvS84NILKu— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) June 22, 2025
The two continued to trade insults, with Putintseva appearing to tell Sakkari to "go [expletive] yourself," before Sakkari said "nobody likes you" and told her she should look people in the eyes when shaking hands.
"I don't think she's going to invite me for dinner for the rest of our lives," Sakkari said in her post-match, on-court interview. "But I don't care, to be honest. I have very good friends, so I'll go to dinner with them.
"Let me leave it here and say I have respect for her as a player, but that's it."
Putintseva, ranked No. 34 in the world, extended the feud Monday with several Instagram posts. One of the posts showed screenshots of Sakkari looking away during handshakes after several of her matches.
"By the way, not that I care, I shook her hand as most women do," Putintseva wrote on her Instagram story. "Clearly not according to the 'hugging protocol' some men seem to follow."
Sakkari is now 3-1 in her career against Putintseva. She held a 10-2 advantage in aces and converted 2 of 5 break point chances in Sunday's 7-5, 7-6(6) win. Sakkari, ranked No. 85, will face No. 18 Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia in a Round of 16 match Tuesday in Bad Homburg.
The grass-court tournament is a warmup for Wimbledon, which will be held from June 30 to July 13 in London.

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