The infamous ‘party court’ at the Australian Open has already sparked its first dispute of 2026, mere hours after the tournament commenced. A prominent player didn’t hold back in addressing the crowd following her Sunday victory.

Since its introduction in 2024, Court Six has earned a reputation for its boisterous supporters.

Adjacent to it is the Courtside Bar, a two-level venue backed by Grey Goose vodka this year, where fans can enjoy cocktails, wine, or beer while catching the match.

Early in her game, Putintseva expressed her frustration to the chair umpire about the bar’s noise levels.

Despite the distractions, she overcame Maia with a score of 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, advancing to the next round, and didn’t hesitate to voice her thoughts on the crowd’s behavior post-match.

Yulia Putintseva is pictured returning serve to the rowdy crowd at the Australian Open’s ‘party court’ on Sunday 

The Kazakh star hit back at the crowd after she was made the villain in her victory over Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia 

As Putintseva walked to the net to shake hands with her opponent, she appeared to mock the crowd with an exaggerated celebration, shaking her shoulders and chest before turning around to the fans and performing an over-the-top bow. 

One fan called it a ‘total shade-throwing reaction to the crowd’ online, with another calling her a ‘first-class s**t stirrer’.

Pulintseva has had a few clashes down the years but became more notorious at the US Open in 2024 during her defeat by Jasmine Paolini, leading to her being widely criticised by pundits.

Two balls were thrown towards Putintseva ahead of one serve, but she ignored them and stared back at the ball girl without moving.

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.

When the Australian Open’s courtside bar was first brought in two years ago, tournament director Craig Tiley said it would be an ‘elevated experience’ for fans.

‘We’re gonna give this a go on outside court six and basically, what it is, we just wrapped the court with a two-storey structure where fans can actually lean over, watch the tennis, sit down,’ he said.

Putintseva appeared to mock the crowd with an exaggerated victory celebration

Pictured: The two-storey Courtside Bar when it was launched in 2024. It didn’t take long for players to blast the behaviour of fans who’d been drinking

Pictured: AFL star Josh Daicos and partner Annalise Dalins at the launch of this year’s courtside bar, which is sponsored by Grey Goose

‘[They can] enjoy a bit to eat, enjoy a drink and the feedback we get is that the fans want to get closer to it, so we bring them closer to it at the same time.’

But fans at the court quickly gained a reputation for angering players almost straight away.

That year, French star Arthur Rinderknech claimed he was verbally abused by drunk fans when he lost in the first round and said he felt like he was ‘playing in a nightclub’.

‘Some stupid – I won’t even say the country – guys that were drunk were shouting at me every time I was missing my first serve, and I don’t think that’s really correct,’ he said.

Last January, fans at the party court got so loud and rowdy that officials were forced to move a match that was scheduled to be played on court eight due to the over-the-top noise.

Ex-player turned commentator Daniela Hantuchova was also astonished.

‘I was walking past the court and I could not believe the noise,’ she said.

‘This was like soccer with baseball and basketball combined.’

Scottish star Jacob Fearnley was also stunned by the behaviour of some spectators on court six – but didn’t think it was all bad.

‘I actually didn’t really look at the court before I went on, so when I saw the bar, I was thinking it’s going to be a pretty rowdy atmosphere,’ he said.

‘Obviously, there were some supporters who were extremely drunk, but it was a great atmosphere, amazing atmosphere.’