Picture Credit: Twitter
Pair of Beatriz Haddad Maia and Victoria Azarenka defeated the American pair consisting of Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 in the finals of the Madrid Open Women’s doubles. All was well until when they were denied addressing the audience present at the venue after the match. After receiving harsh criticism for how four top tennis players were treated following the women's doubles final on Sunday, the Madrid Open's organisers have issued an apology to the four players.
The official Twitter handle of the Madrid Open on Thursday wrote, “We sincerely apologize to all the players and fans who expected more from the Mutua Madrid Open. Not giving our women's doubles finalists the opportunity to address the fans at the end of the match was unacceptable and we have apologized directly to Victoria, Beatriz, Coco and Jessica.”
The tweet, signed by Gerard Tsobanian, CEO of Madrid Open further read, “We made a mistake, and this will never happen again." However, this wasn’t the case after the Men’s doubles and singles matches. This sexist behavior by the organisers did not go well with the players as well as the fans and has even received backlash from fans.
Earlier, another sexist incident was seen in the Madrid Open when models were made to appear in crop tops and miniskirts for the Men’s matches instead of the regular ball kids. This move sparked major outrage amongst viewers and Tournament Director Feliciano Lopez and the entire organising crew was accused of being ‘misogynistic’. The organisers tried to cover this mistake when loose fitted capris and sleeveless crop tops were given to the ball girls for the Men’s singles final involving Carlos Alcaraz and Jan Lennard-Struff.
