After remarks made by Jessica Pegula were unknowingly recorded and livestreamed at the WTA Finals this week, the world No. 5 called it an "unfortunate situation" in an interview with ESPN on Friday.
During a practice session with her coach Mark Knowles in Indian Wells, California, Pegula called Mirra Andreeva, the world No. 3 and reigning French Open champion, a "diva" and criticized her mentality and attitude. Pegula believed it was a private conversation, but it was being broadcast live on the WTA's YouTube account with audio.
"Obviously I had no idea and was not informed that audio was being recorded," Pegula said. "But it is what it is."
The video, which has since been taken down from the YouTube account, almost immediately went viral.
On Friday morning, WTA chairperson Valerie Camillo addressed the issue during a news conference at the WTA Finals and cited "several breakdowns" in the organization's livestream execution for the gaffe.
"There was a lack of advanced notice and clear signage to assist players about the recording equipment operating in the area," Camillo said. "It was also not our intention to capture conversations on the livestream of practices, but rather to record ambient sound. So clearly there was a failure in our technical execution and monitoring."
Camillo apologized to the players, and specifically to Pegula and Knowles.
"What happened was regrettable and unacceptable," Camillo said. "Jess is one of the WTA's best advocates and biggest stars. She does not deserve this distraction."
Pegula told ESPN she had handled the situation "privately" and "how [she] thought it should be handled." As a member of the WTA's Player Council, she added player privacy concerns had been an ongoing topic and concern.
"I think it's something that we have fought a lot over the last couple years as there's a lot more surveillance and audio and I guess access to the players at tournaments than there has been in the past," Pegula said. "I know for broadcasting that it's great for fans, but I think we've seen a couple incidents now throughout the year, [the] last couple of years really, where it just seems highly unnecessary. And yeah, I think [this will] definitely reignite the topic and hopefully we can unfortunately use this incident to keep pushing for more player privacy."
In January, footage of world No. 4 Coco Gauff smashing her racket after losing in the quarterfinals at the Australian Open in an area she believed to be private was broadcast globally. Iga Swiatek, now ranked No. 9, compared the player predicament to being like "animals in a zoo" and always observed. The Australian Open, and the other major tournaments, vowed to make changes to address such concerns going forward.
Aryna Sabalenka, the world No. 2, had a similar occurrence following a loss in the final, to Gauff, at the 2023 US Open. She smashed her racket in the player gym and was also unaware it was being filmed for public consumption.
The WTA Finals, which features the top eight singles players and doubles teams, gets underway on Sunday and concludes on Nov. 15.