Cori Gauff hit out at the Madrid Open organizers over the controversy that ensued following the conclusion of the women’s doubles final. After Gauff and Jessica Pegula were beaten by Victoria Azarenka and Beatriz Haddad Maia in the Madrid doubles final, all four were told there would be no on-court interview.
Shortly after the final, Gauff took to Twitter, where she expressed disappointment that she wasn’t able to address the opponents and crowd. In the days before the women’s doubles final, the Madrid Open organizers took some criticism from Azarenka and Iga Swiatek.
Gauff calls out the Madrid organizers over their move
“Yeah, for me, like, I’m going to say it wasn’t about the speech, about what was said. I mean, obviously we lost, so it probably didn’t mean as much as to Vika and Bea, who won.
It wasn’t so much about me wanting to speak and speak to the crowd. I guess I do think the player should address the crowd, people who came and supported the event. But I think it was just more about the principle behind it, that in future cases, I don’t know if someone, maybe me or somebody else criticizes the organization or tournament, maybe deeper than what was said, I don’t know, maybe racism, homophobia, something like that.
You can’t just cut, no speech, no nothing. You have to take those criticisms. You look at other sporting events, a lot of people call out their organizations. Nothing wrong with that. I think the professional thing to do is keep things as normal.
In tennis, we are probably one of the few sports where we give a speech,” Gauff said, per Tennis-Infinity. The Madrid organizers were contacted by some media outlets for comments but they weren’t interested in speaking too much on the matter.
The WTA also hasn’t made any official statements. Meanwhile, Gauff and other WTA stars are competing at the Italian Open in Rome this week.
