The organizers of the Madrid Open apologize for the criticism of the treatment of female tennis stars

CNN
—

Organizers Madrid Open have apologized to four leading tennis players following widespread criticism of their treatment following Sunday’s women’s doubles final.

No winner Beatriz Haddad Maia and Victoria Azarenka or the US pair of losers Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff gave acceptance speeches and later accused the organizers of not allowing them to speak after the match.

“We sincerely apologize to all the players and fans who expected more from the Madrid Open,” Gerard Tsobanian, CEO of the Madrid Open and tournament organizer, said in a statement sent to CNN.

It was unacceptable to allow our women’s doubles finalists to address their fans at the end of the match and we have apologized to Victoria, Beatriz, Coco and Jessica.

We are working internally and with the WTA to review our protocol and are committed to improving our process moving forward. We made a mistake and this will never happen again.

After the match, Gauff tweeted that she was not given a chance to speak after the final, while Azarenka added that it was difficult to explain to Leo that her mother could not greet her at the award ceremony.

Pegula added: I don’t know what century everyone was living in when they made this decision.

But that wasn’t the only controversy during the week-long tournament.

The organizers were blamed sexism dressed the ball girls in crop tops and short skirts for the event, later swapping the skirts for long shorts for the men’s final on Sunday.

Earlier, Azarenka had also criticized the organizers after a fan posted two photos on Twitter showing the difference in size of the birthday cakes given to Carlos Alcaraz. Aryna Sabalenkawho have a birthday on May 5.

Couldn’t be more specific about the treatment, Azarenka said in response to the tweet.

This prompted a response from tournament director Feliciano Lpez, a former world number 12 and seven-time winner on the ATP Tour, who said he was surprised by the reaction after the gesture.