Tennis
Scandal in Madrid! Tennis tournament organizers accused of sexism
On Sunday, May 7, the final match in pairs of the clay tournament of the WTA 1000 series was held in Madrid (Spain).
In the cup duel, the tandems of Coco Gauff / Jessica Pegula and Victoria Azarenka / Beatriz Haddad Maya came together. The fight ended in favor of Azarenka and Haddad Maya with a score of 6:1, 6:4.
After the meeting was over, something strange happened. Madrid Open Organizers deprived champions and finalists of traditional speech at the awards ceremony. Interestingly, such an opportunity was provided for men.
“I wasn’t given the opportunity to perform after the final today,” Gauff wrote on Twitter.
Pegula also did not leave unattended:
“I don’t know what century everyone lived in when they took this decision. Or how did they talk and decide? “Wow, this is a great decision and there will be no backlash against it.” So what? I never thought we’d be allowed to speak. It disappointed me a lot.”
World number 7 and last year’s tournament winner Ons Jabeur described the situation as “sad and unacceptable”, while former Grand Slam doubles champion Renne Stubbs succinctly called it “embarrassing”.
The organizers of the super tournament in Madrid had to apologize:
“We sincerely apologize to all the players and fans who expected more from the Mutua Madrid Open. It was unacceptable that our women’s doubles finalists weren’t given the chance to address their fans at the end of the match, and we apologized directly to Victoria, Beatrice, Coco and Jessica. We are working internally and with the WTA to review our protocols and improve our going forward process. We made a mistake and it will never happen again.”
…Coco and Jessica. We work internally and with WTA to review our protocols and are committed to improving our process going forward. We made a mistake and it will never happen again.”
Gerard Tsobanian, CEO of Mutua Madrid Open
(2/2)
— #MMOPEN (@MutuaMadridOpen) 11 May 2023
But that’s not all. During the tournament, the ball collectors in the Madrid central court, who became the girls in this tournament, wore short tops and short skirts. Criticism soon followed, and the organizers reacted to the Sunday finals and the weirdest. They gave the girls short tops, but the skirts were replaced by long shorts.
“Girls are treated more feminine than guys who don’t dress like that,” said Pilar Calvo, spokesperson for the Professional Women’s Sports Association.
There was also another strange case in Madrid. On May 5, the world’s second rackets and future champions of the tournament Carlos Alcaras and Arina Sobolenko celebrated their birthdays. As a result, the Spaniard received a large cake as a gift, and Sobolenko had to be content with a 10 times smaller version of the cake.
Victoria Azarenka, a member of the WTA Players Council, posted the relevant photos on her Twitter account.
Couldn’t be more accurate in treatment https://t.co/x89RytI0zV
— victoria azarenka (@vika7) May 5, 2023
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.
18 years old “neutral” Mirra Andreeva He sent fans away after the match at the Australian Open 2026.
On January 21, Andreeva defeated Maria Sakkari in the 1/32 final with scores of 6:0 and 6:4. After the end of the fight, Mirra said “Fuck you all” to applauding fans. Naturally, this was inaudible, but you can literally read this sentence on your lips.
On the 23rd, Romanian Elena-Gabriela Ruse will play against Andreeva. The meeting will start around 12:00 Kyiv time.
VIDEO. “To hell with you all” Andreeva told fans after her match at the Australian Open
Did he say what I thought he said???? 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/qH9hxmE0VX
— Lorena Popa 🕵️♀️🎾 (@popalorena) January 21, 2026
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.
January 23 Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina (WTA 12) The Australian Open will continue to be competed in 2026.
In the third round, the Ukrainian will play against a “neutral” team Diana Schneider (WTA 22). The match will start at 10:00 Kyiv time at Margaret Court Arena.
The best moments of tennis matches LIVE on Telegram channel Tennis on Sport.ua
This will be the first head-to-head meeting between the rivals.
The winner of the fight will face Elena-Gabriela Ruse or Diana Schneider in the second round.
Video player will be added later…
DAY CALENDAR
TOURNAMENT TABLE
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.
22 January at Australian Open 2026 1/32 final matches were played in the lower group of men’s singles.
Number two in the ATP world rankings and current champion Jannik the Sinner He defeated James Duckworth. He will then compete with Italian player Eliot Spizzirri.
Distinguished Novak Djokovic He coped with Francesco Maestrelli without any problems. Novak’s next opponent will be Botik van de Zandshulp.
The best moments of tennis matches LIVE on Telegram channel Tennis on Sport.ua
Old Marin Cilic and Stan Wawrinka also advanced to the third round by knocking out Denis Shapovalov and Arthur Hea respectively.
Hubert Hurkacz’s loss to Ethan Quinn was quite unexpected and came in three sets.
Among Thursday’s top 10 players, Lorenzo Musetti (beat Lorenzo Sonego), Ben Shelton (beat Dane Sweeney) and Taylor Fritz (beat Vit Koprzyva) won their second-round matches on Thursday.
On the 21st of the month, the 1/32 upper group final took place in Melbourne, and as a result, the star Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz took one step forward.
Australian Open 2026. 1/16 last pair
topnet
Carlos Alcaraz [1] – Corentin Moutet [32]
Tommy Paul [19] – Alejandro Davidovic Fokina [14]
Alexander Bublik [10] – Thomas Martin Etcheverry
Francis Tiafoe [29] – Alex de Minaur [6]
Alexander Zverev [3] – Cameron Norrie [26]
Francisco Cherundolo [18] – Andrey Rublev [13]
Daniil Medvedev [11] – Fabian Marozan
Lerner Tien [25] – Nuno Borges
bottom of the network
Lorenzo Musetti [5] – Tomas Machac
Stan Wawrinka [WC] – Taylor Fritz [9]
Yakub Menshik [16] – Ethan Quinn
Botik van de Zandshulp – Novak Djokovic [4]
Ben Shelton [8] – Valentin Vachereau [30]
Marin Cilic Casper Ruud [12]
Karen Khachanov [15] – Luciano Darderi [22]
Eliot Spizziri – Jannik the Sinner [2]
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.
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