In a baffling turn of events, the Madrid Open's doubles finalists were denied the opportunity to address the crowd during the trophy ceremony.
The incident, which took place at La Caja Magica in Madrid, has left tennis legend Pam Shriver and the tennis community fuming over what they perceive as a blatant disregard for tradition and respect.
The WTA doubles final featured a high-profile match-up between Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff against Victoria Azarenka and Beatriz Haddad Maia. The latter duo emerged victorious in straight sets, but what followed left many perplexed.
Unlike the singles final held the day before, the doubles winners and runners-up were not allowed to speak to the audience, a custom that has long been observed in tennis tournaments and during all other three trophy ceremonies in Madrid.
This unusual snub caught the attention of former doubles world number one and current ESPN commentator Pam Shriver. She questioned the motives behind this departure from the norm and wondered if the tournament had violated any tour policies.
"My take last night after seeing replay of Madrid Open doubles ceremony. Two WTA player council members Victoria Azarenka and Jessica Pegula & partners Coco Gauff & Beatriz Haddad Maia were silenced. Why? Did tournament break a tour policy or just traditions?"
Shriver went on to express her disappointment at the treatment of the four players, highlighting that none of them were given the opportunity to thank their teams, families, or sponsors.
"Who would've thought that the women's doubles final would provide one of the more controversial moments of the year so far. Gauff and Pegula lost to Haddad Maia and Vika Azarenka and none of them got to thank their teams or their families or sponsors, nobody."
She pointed out that two of the players involved, Victoria Azarenka and Jessica Pegula, are members of the WTA Player Council, making their exclusion from addressing the crowd even more puzzling.
"And look, you've got two members of the Players Council there in Pegula and Azarenka. Two other top singles players and they are obviously conferring there like what just happened. No microphone, I'm speechless and so are they but for the wrong reasons."
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