Australian Open 2026: Yulia Putintseva drowns ‘disrespectful’ crowd with rabbit song

With the majority of the audience opposed, Yulia Putintseva turned her attention to a song about rabbits.

Her Turkish opponent, Zeynep Sonmez, who qualified from the qualifiers, received vociferous crowd support in Melbourne after she was forced into a deciding set in a close match in the third round.

So, in an attempt to block it all out, Putintseva repeated the lyrics to a song from an old Russian movie in her head, instead of her usual Taylor Swift.

She admitted this was not her usual coping mechanism, but proved it was a necessary distraction as she won 6-3, 6-7 (3-7), 6-3 in Melbourne.

After completing the victory, Putintseva responded to the boos that came her way by cupping one of her ears and sending kisses to the fans, before dancing provocatively on her way off the field.

“I think there were a lot of disrespectful moments,” said the 31-year-old, who was booed as she celebrated her victory and throughout her post-match interview. “They were shouting very loudly between my first and second serves to make me make a mistake.”

“At one crucial point, a guy started coughing to get my shot. I thought: ‘Okay, I’m not going to lose.’

“Some people get a tennis education, and unfortunately, some don’t.”

“I’m so glad I kept my cool, because last year Yulia was probably going to throw something at them at one point,” she joked.