Controversy erupts as female Madrid Open doubles finalists banned from speaking

Four of the world’s top tennis stars have shared their outrage after they were muzzled at the Madrid Open trophy presentation.

(L-R) Runners up Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula of United States and Winners Victoria Azarenka and Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil pose while holding their trophy's after the Woman's Doubles Final match on Day Fourteen of the Mutua Madrid Open at La Caja Magica on May 07, 2023 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

A storm has erupted at the Madrid Open after all four players competing in the women’s doubles final were barred from speaking in the aftermath of the match on Monday morning (AEST).

After days of controversy surrounding the tournament, trophies were handed out to the winning pairing of Victoria Azarenka and Beatriz Haddad-Maia as well as the runners up Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, however no speeches were made as is customary.

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Meanwhile the finalists of the men’s doubles and both singles tournaments were all given the opportunity to speak after their respective matches.

The issue was quickly raised on social media by the four competing tennis stars, with Tunisia’s World No. 4 Ons Jabeur calling the incident “sad and unacceptable”.

also thanks to my team and Jess’s team of course! Also for the ball kids, tournament staff, and everyone else who works hard behind the scenes. Twitter format doesn’t allow me to say everything I would’ve said during the speech if we had one. But just wanted to say I ‘m thankful

— Coco Gauff (@CocoGauff) May 7, 2023

🤐🤔🤷🏻‍♀️ https://t.co/GDVc9eqyj6

— Jessie Pegula (@JLPegula) May 7, 2023

so unfortunate that you were not given a chance to address the crowd and your opponents. This is sad and unacceptable 🤯 https://t.co/XGc7aW0s22

— Ons Jabeur (@Ons_Jabeur) May 7, 2023

Hard to explain to Leo that mommy isn’t able to say hello to him at the trophy ceremony

— victoria azarenka (@vika7) May 7, 2023

American World No. 6 Gauff was fuming about the incident, and shared part of the message she had prepared for her speech on Twitter.

“Wasn’t given the chance to speak after the final today. But thank you to the fans for supporting us and women’s tennis this week! Thanks (Jessica Pegula) for always keeping it fun on the court and hitting unreal clutch shots hahahaha Lastly, big congratulations Vika and Bia.

(L-R) Runners up Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula of United States and Winners Victoria Azarenka and Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil pose while holding their trophies. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

The finalists chat after the Madrid decider. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

“Also thanks to my team and Jess’s team of course!

“Also for the ball kids, tournament staff, and everyone else who works hard behind the scenes.

“Twitter format doesn’t allow me to say everything I would’ve said during the speech if we had one. But just wanted to say I’m thankful.”

Australian great Rennae Stubbs was furious over the decision to silence the stars of the game and took aim at organisers in a scathing post.

So for a tournament to deny players a speech after they win a @WTA 1000 is a DISGRACE!! I hope the WTA never allow this to happen again. What was the reason @MutuaMadridOpen and @WTA ???

— Rennae Stubbs 🟦👍🏼 (@rennaestubbs) May 7, 2023

The Mutua Madrid Open choosing to silence the women’s doubles finalists (ie not letting them speak during the trophy ceremony) because they’re butthurt over Cakegate and some glancing criticisms yesterday is truly one of the wilder miscalculations I’ve seen in tennis lately. https://t.co/TmXQpYI2xc

— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) May 7, 2023

Madrid Open cut the speech session for the women’s doubles final between Coco Gauff/Jessica Pegula & Victoria Azarenka/Beatriz Haddad Maia

Very strange to say the least. I know the men’s doubles final had speeches. pic.twitter.com/wHMg2I0lYK

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) May 7, 2023

American World No. 3 Pegula retweeted Gauff’s message alongside a zipped mouth emoji, while Belarusian World No. 16 Azarenka wrote that it would be hard to explain to her son “that mommy isn’t able to say hello to him at the trophy ceremony”.

While tournament organisers have given no indication as to why the four female stars were muzzled, the incident does come after days of controversy surrounding the tournament including a debate over a discrepancy in the size of the cakes handed out to male and female winners and outrage surrounding the tournament’s decision to employ models in place of ball kids for some matches.

The Madrid Open has been under fire for employing models in place of ball kids.

Moreover, World No. 1 Iga Swiatek seemingly enraged tournament director Feliciano Lopez after being defeated in the Madrid Open final on Sunday morning (AEST) by Aryna Sabalenka.

After a two-and-a-half-hour late-night marathon, Swiatek stole the limelight as she delivered a clip to tournament organisers during her runners up speech.

The 21-year-old hit out at the Madrid Open scheduling that saw her finish multiple games after midnight in the lead up to the final.

“It’s not fun to play at 1am though,” Swiatek said.

“I’m happy anyway I was able to get past this experience and survive and be in the final.”

The remarks didn’t sit well with Lopez who looked supremely unhappy about the criticism while standing behind Swiatek at the trophy presentation.

Tournament director Feliciano Lopez (R) was fuming at the comment. Pic: BeIn

The Madrid Open also copped a hammering last week due to a discrepancy in the size of the cakes handed out to the male and female singles winners.

Belarus born Sabalenka, 25, was given a single-tier cake after defeating Swiatek, while Spanish star Alcaraz, 20, was given a multi-tier cake that had to be held up by several people for the photo opportunity.

The cake size discrepancy ruffled some feathers at the Madrid Open.

Canadian World No. 27 Bianca Andreescu couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

“That doesn’t look right,” she wrote.

Some fans were left fuming over the optics of both winners being presented cakes of vastly different sizes, however others said their was no issue as they pointed out Alcaraz was playing in his home country as the hometown hero.

“I see a lot of people losing their minds over this. And believe me, I am a huge advocate for women’s right and women’s tennis and gender equality and equity. But I think this isn’t ‘men vs women’. It’s Spaniard vs non Spaniard. It’s that simple,” one wrote.

I’m surprised by this reaction after this gesture!

1. Carlos had just won his match to reach the final
2. He was playing on centre court
3. The tournament is played in Spain, even though it is an international event

PS: I hope Rune wasn’t also upset by his treatment 😜 https://t.co/ApK1IiiD6lpic.twitter.com/1mEoIitXxs

— Feliciano López (@feliciano_lopez) May 5, 2023

Others were quick to point out that rising star Holger Rune was given a cake after celebrating his birthday during the tournament, similar to the one given to Sabalenka.

Tournament director Feliciano Lopez hit back at the criticism as he responded to the criticism.

“I’m surprised by this reaction after this gesture! 1. Carlos had just won his match to reach the final. 2. He was playing on centre court. 3. The tournament is played in Spain, even though it is an international event. PS: I hope Rune wasn’t also upset by his treatment,” he wrote.

Originally published as Controversy erupts as female Madrid Open doubles finalists banned from speaking