Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) chief Valerie Camillo apologised after a courtside microphone captured United States star Jessica Pegula making disparaging comments about rival Mirra Andreeva. Pegula was plunged into controversy after her conversation with coach Mark Knowles on a practice court at Indian Wells in California was broadcast on a WTA YouTube livestream of the session. In the exchange, Pegula can be heard describing 19-year-old Russian Andreeva as a “diva”.
World number four Pegula was also heard criticising Andreeva’s coach, former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez, for not addressing French Open champion Andreeva’s behaviour. Speaking before Sunday’s opening matches of the WTA Finals, WTA chairperson Camillo blamed the controversy on “several breakdowns in our execution of the livestream given our own policies and procedures”. Camillo said microphones had been installed on practice courts to pick up “ambient sound” – such as the noise of balls being struck – rather than conversations between players and coaches.
Jess is one of the WTA’s best advocates and biggest stars. She does not deserve this distraction.” The WTA Finals begin on Sunday, with the top eight women’s singles players divided into two round-robin groups of four before advancing to the knockout rounds.
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