The journalist who insulted Barbora Krejcikova's appearance publicly apologized, but that did not stop the Tennis Channel from removing him after the incident.
Krejcikova, who won Wimbledon this year, competed at the WTA Finals last week. She qualified for the season-ending tournament because of a new rule brought in by the WTA, stating that Grand Slam champions qualify if they are in the Top 20 for the season.
That meant Emma Navarro, who would have qualified at No. 8 in previous years, missed out on the WTA Finals. Daria Kasatkina criticized the rule and thinks qualification for the prestigious tournament should be based purely on ranking points.
Krejcikova made the most of the opportunity by performing well at the WTA Finals. She defeated Jessica Pegula and eventual champion Coco Gauff to make the semifinal, but she lost to Qinwen Zheng at that stage.
Unfortunately, a comment from the well-known journalist Jon Wertheim, who appeared on the Tennis Channel during the WTA Finals, created more headlines.
Wertheim caused outrage when he mocked the size of Krejcikova's forehead, not realizing the camera picked it up. Many female players have dealt with being judged for their looks rather than the quality of tennis they produce throughout their careers.
The journalist made a public apology on social media, although he received criticism for doing this when the clip of him mocking Krejcikova gained traction rather than doing so immediately after it happened.
"During a Tennis Channel studio show on Friday, I made some deeply regrettable comments off-air. I acknowledge them. I apologize for them. I reached out immediately and apologized to the player."
"In rehearsal, we were shown a graphic of a player who had just competed. It showed her an angle that exaggerated her forehead. A few moments later, I was told to frame up by zoom. I looked at the low camera angle and joked that it made my forehead resemble the photo of the player in question."
"Someone in the control chimed in and I bantered back. Though this was a private rehearsal, this exchange inadvertently, and without context, made it to live air. I realize: I am not the victim here. It was neither professional nor charitable nor reflective of the person I strive to be."
Although Wertheim rightly apologized, that was not enough to stop the Tennis Channel from taking action. The network said Wertheim had been a valuable member of the team, but he failed to meet their standards by insulting Krejcikova.
"When Tennis Channel became aware of an inappropriate comment about a professional tennis player made by our analyst Jon Wertheim on Friday, we immediately removed him from our air indefinitely. The network also apologized to the player, Barbora Krejcikova, as did Jon."
"Jon has dedicated his career to shining a light on and growing this sport and has been a valued member of our family and the tennis community. That said, Tennis Channel holds its employees to a standard of respectfulness for others at all times, a standard that was not met in this moment."
Krejcikova, who responded to and criticized Wertheim's comments on social media, received support from the WTA. The governing body of women's tennis made a brief statement about Wertheim's remarks.
"There is no place in sport for inappropriate comments about female athletes. The WTA stands in full support of Barbora’s powerful call for respect. This should be the norm for all women in all working environments. Respect is due as a right, not a privilege to be earned."