Jessica Pegula on the Madrid scandal: "In which century do they live?"
AfterCori Gauff, her doubles partner Jessica Pegula also harshly criticized the award ceremony after the final in women's doubles at the WTA Tour 1000 tournament in Madrid.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: May 11, 2023, 09:02 am
Anyone who has ever had the chance to attend a press conference with Jessica Pegula will remember a woman who said very mature things in a very calm manner. Pegula, it should be known by now, is the daughter of Terrence Pegula, who used his fortune to buy the Buffalo Bills (NFL) and the Buffalo Sabers (NHL), among other things. So Jessi is used to big hype.
It would have been all the more interesting if you had actually heard Pegula after the women's doubles final in Madrid. Although she and Cori Gauff lost the final against Victoria Azarenka and Beatriz Haddad Maia, short word addresses to the fans, the team and the organizers are actually common.
Tweet from Azarenka as a trigger?
Or to put it in the words of Jessica Pegula: “Did I think we couldn't say anything? No! I've never heard of anything like this in my life. Even a 10,000 challenger would give you that opportunity. I don't know what century those who made that decision live in, or if they actually had a conversation that said, 'Wow, that's a great decision and we certainly won't take any criticism for it.'
Incidentally, the scenes that took place on Sunday afternoon must have been bizarre. "Someone said to us: 'Now please go to the podium and we'll take a picture together.' Then Vika turned to us and said: 'There will be no speeches.'" Only then did all four women realize that that there were no microphones at all. "Everything was very tight," said Pegula now in Rome.
The starting point of the controversy could have been a tweet by Azarenka, in which she denounced the unequal treatment of women and men in Madrid. Tournament boss Feliciano Lopez reacted to this tweet. Not yet for the criticism of the award ceremony on Sunday.