WTA backs Barbora Krejcikova amid Jon Wertheim appearance comment controversy

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.

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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.”

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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.