Nov 6 (Reuters) – Audio recording has been disabled on practice courts at the WTA Finals, the governing body’s chair said on Friday, after private comments by Jessica Pegula about Mirra Andreeva were broadcast during a livestream this week.
During a practice session at Indian Wells, California, that was streamed on the WTA’s YouTube channel, microphones captured a conversation between world number five Pegula and her coach Mark Knowles.
The American described French Open champion Andreeva as “a diva” among other remarks that were later circulated on social media, with the WTA taking the blame for failing to inform players about active microphones.
WTA chair Valerie Camillo acknowledged there was a lack of signage and notice given to players and said audio will no longer be recorded on practice courts during the tournament, which begins on Sunday.
“The livestream with the audio that was trying to catch ambient sound was active for a period of time, and it’s been corrected,” WTA chair Valerie Camillo told reporters at Indian Wells. “It’s been taken down. There is no more audio recording happening on the practice courts.”
Pegula was not asked about the incident during her media availability on Friday but told ESPN that it was an “unfortunate situation” that can hopefully be used to keep pushing for player privacy, which has been an ongoing concern for the WTA this year.
Twice Grand Slam winner Coco Gauff called for more privacy in January after cameras caught her smashing her racket following her Australian Open quarter-final defeat to Elina Svitolina. Several players, including Pegula and six-times Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek, echoed her calls.
“The question is, are we tennis players or are we animals in the zoo, where they are observed even when they poop?” Swiatek said in January. “Okay, that was exaggerating obviously, but it would be nice to have some privacy. It would be nice also to have your own process and not always be observed.”
Following the incident with Gauff, a WTA tournament in Texas unveiled a “rage room” in February for players to take out their frustrations away from the cameras.
Gauff welcomed the idea of rage rooms but added in April that signage was one of the main solutions.
“As a member organization, one of the primary responsibilities of the WTA is to protect our players whenever possible,” Camillo said on Friday.
“The players deserve better and we will continue to work to raise the bar for the WTA.”
The season-ending WTA Finals run through November 15.
(Reporting by Nicole Fernandes in Toronto, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
