The WTA has backed world number 10
Barbora Krejcikova after
recent criticism from one of the pundits during the
WTA Finals. The mega-event,
which was the last in the women’s tennis calendar, concluded recently in Riyadh,
Saudi Arabia.
It was America’s Coco Gauff who eventually lifted the title
for the first time after beating China’s Qinwen Zheng in the final with a score
of 3-6, 6-4, 7-6. One of the played who turned out to be a surprise package in
the competition was the Czech Republic’s Krejcikova. The two-time Grand Slam
winner put an impressive show in the tournament and her journey concluded when
she lost in the semifinal to Zheng in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 7-5.
During the competition, Jon Wertheim was working an a pundit
on the Tennis Channel. During the TV segment in the semifinal, Wertheim made an
insensitive remark about Krejcikova’s forehead thinking that he was not live. “Who
do you think I am? Barbora Krejcikova? Look at the forehead when Krejcikova and
Zheng take the court,” he said.
After the incident, Wertheim was suspended ‘indefinitely’ by
the Tennis Channel. He went on to apologise for those comments in a post on his
official account on the social media platform X. “During a Tennis Channel
studio show on Friday, I made some deeply regrettable comments off-air,” he wrote.
“I acknowledge them. I apologise for them. I reached out immediately and
apologised to the player.”
WTA has now issued a statement backing Krejcikova by
claiming that such inappropriate comments have no place in the tennis world. “There
is no place in sport for inappropriate comments about female athletes. The WTA
stands in full support of Barbora’s powerful call for respect. This should be
the norm for all women in all working environments. Respect is due as a right,
not a privilege to be earned,” said the governing body in a statement.