After she and her fellow doubles finalists were denied the opportunity to give presentation statements, Jessica Pegula attacked the Madrid Open's management.
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Image Source - Google | Image by <br><a href= BBC News |
Beatriz Haddad and Victoria Azarenka On Sunday, Maia defeated Americans Pegula and Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4.
Following their matches, the winners of the men's doubles and singles competitions all addressed the fans.
Pegula, 29, remarked, "I don't know what century everyone was living in when they made that decision.
"Or how they talked it over and determined, 'Wow, this is a terrific move and there's going to be no pushback against this.
"I never heard we wouldn't be able to converse in my life. It was really depressing. If the prize was $10,000, you would speak.
It was self-evident. When that happened, we were unhappy and informed that we couldn't speak during the award presentation. It sort of supported a claim.
Azarenka of Belarus claimed it was "hard to explain" to her little son Leo why she couldn't speak to him during a victory speech.
In his tweet, Gauff added, "Twitter format doesn't allow me to say everything I would've said during the speech if we had one."
Ons Jabeur, the seventh-ranked player in the world and a tournament spectator from Tunisia, called it "sad and unacceptable" that the players were silenced.
When asked Sport for an explanation, the Madrid Open's organizers responded, "The tournament will not comment on the matter."
The Madrid Open awards the same amount in prize money for ATP and WTA competitions, with singles champions taking home just under £1 million and doubles champions splitting £330,000.
Third-ranked in the world in singles, Pegula and Gauff split £176,000 as the winners.
Why Madrid Open is being criticized as being'sexist'
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Image Source - Google | Image by <br><a href= BBC News |