Australian Open director reacts to ‘animals in the zoo’ camera controversy
The Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley has responded after players suggested their private moments were being broadcast.
One storyline away from the courts in Melbourne has been how much privacy players can reasonably expect after footage emerged of Coco Gauff smashing her racquet in what she believed was a place away from the cameras.
It prompted Gauff to suggest there should be “conversations” with the organisers after it felt like the locker room was the only place for privacy and she received support from Iga Swiatek who went further with her complaints.
“The question is, are we tennis players or are we animals in the zoo where they are observed even when they poop? That was exaggerating, obviously, but it would be nice to have some privacy. It would be nice also to have your own process and not always be observed.
“I don’t think it should be like that because we’re tennis players, we’re meant to be watched on the court and in the press, that’s our job. It’s not our job to be a meme when you forget your accreditation. It’s funny, for sure, people have something to talk about. But, for us, I don’t think it’s necessary.”
Tiley, who has been director of the tournament since 2006, suggested they would listen to players but also said there are many areas kept away from the cameras.
“The first thing we want to do is listen to the players,” he told the Tennis Channel. “We want to understand what they need, what they want; this is the first question we want to answer.
“Ultimately, there’s a very fine line between promoting the player/tournament and camera placement. There are many areas where we don’t have cameras: the coaches’ room, the locker rooms, the training room, the recovery room, the rest room… there are many areas where we don’t have cameras.
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“Then there are the access corridors to the stadiums, where we do have them, obviously.”
Tiley suggested it was a fine line between bringing the fans closer to the sport and player privacy but said they would continue to work with the competitors.
“We’ll continue listening to the players, discovering what makes them feel comfortable, but keeping in mind that we also want to bring the player as close as possible to the spectator, since they love this experience,” he said.
“We’ll continue along that path, even though it’s a very delicate one.”
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