Madrid, May 11 The CEO of the Madrid tennis tournament, Gerard Tsobanian, has asked “sincere apologies to all the players, players and fans who expected more” from them, for the “unacceptable” decision not to give the finalists of the women’s doubles the opportunity to address the fans at the end of the match.
“It was unacceptable and we have apologized directly to Victoria (Azarenka), Beatriz (Haddad-Maia), Coco (Gauff) and Jessica (Pegula). We are working internally, and with the WTA, to review our protocols and are committed to improving our processes for the future,” said Tsobanian on the tournament’s social networks.
“We made a mistake and this will never happen again,” he concludes.
Last Sunday, the Brazilian Beatriz Haddad-Maia and the Belarusian Victoria Azarenka won the women’s doubles title of the WTA 1,000 in Madrid by defeating the Americans Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, first seeds, in the final held at the Caja Mágica, by 6-1 and 6-4.
In all the finals on the tennis circuit, the protagonists of a final are given the floor during the delivery of trophies, a protocol that was not followed in this case.
The players were surprised when they were informed that there would only be photos, no speeches, and then they expressed their discomfort on their networks. Other players who had not participated in the final also expressed their solidarity with them.
The tournament apologized to them by letter, although, as in the case of the public statement released this Thursday by Tsobanian, without giving explanations as to why such a decision had been made. EFE
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