Jessica Pegula and Mirra Andreeva ‘diva row’ takes fresh twists as WTA chiefs respond
WTA Tour chiefs have been scrambling to apologise for their role in a spat that has broken out between Jessica Pegula and Mirra Andreeva on the eye of their most prestigious event of the year.
The top eight players in women’s tennis have gathered at Indian Wells for the WTA Finals, but the pre-tournament hype has been interrupted by a major story sparked by comments from Pegula during a practice session.
Pegula did not realise microphones were capturing her chat with coach Mark Knowles when she described French Open champion Andreeva as ‘a diva’, with viewers watching the live stream quick to post it on social media channels.
“I’ve lost a little respect for her because I’m like, this girl – I think she’s a nice girl – she’s just a diva,” said Pegula.
“She needs to be humbled. She needs to be [inaudible] putting her in her place; [inaudible] stand up to her.
More Tennis News
‘I’m talking to you!’ – Elena Rybakina’s anger caught on hot mic as WTA Finals chaos deepens
“I lost respect for her. She’s a good girl, but she needs to mature. I don’t know if it’s because she doesn’t know how to handle it.
“If I were her coach and my player had just played four great games, she’s up 4-0, she gets mad at me and chases me down… I’d tell her not to talk to me like that.”
Pegula did not realise what she thought was a private conversation was, in fact, being broadcast to the world and now her agent has released a statement to the BBC clarifying her position.
“Naturally it’s been an unfortunate situation for everyone involved,” Chris McCormack told BBC Sport.
“Jess has since been in direct contact with those involved, which she felt was important to do personally rather than through the media.”
The WTA are also scrambling to try and patch up a major news story that could overshadow the start of the WTA Finals, as they also released a statement to apologise for their role in the controversy.
“The WTA takes full responsibility for failing to inform our players and their teams that microphones, in place to give fans a livestream of the players’ practice, were active on the courts at the WTA Finals,” a statement read.
“We sincerely apologise for failing to meet our responsibility to ensure players and coaches were properly informed.”
Want more from Tennis365? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for tennis coverage you can trust.
Microphones will not be used on practice courts for the rest of the tournament as this latest incident came after Elena Rybakina was caught on microphones amid a feisty exchange with her coach Stefano Vukov.
This is not the first time tennis players have complained about intrusion from tournament organisers in what they considered to be private areas, with Aryna Sabalenka’s racket smash after she lost at the US Open in 2023.
Cameras that take fans behind the scenes at tournaments may make for compelling viewing, but they are clearly not welcomed by those being caught making comments they might regret.
READ MORE: The WTA Tour forced to step in following incident between Jessica Pegula and Mirra Andreeva
