Tennis stars warned to watch their conduct on Social Media: "No place for this in the WTA"

Tennis stars have been cautioned about their social media behaviour after Paula Badosa and Magda Linette were forced to apologise for “distasteful” posts in China this year. The new WTA director, Portia Archer, issued a warning email to players on the Tour.

One of the controversies during the Asian Swing involved former World No. 2 Paula Badosa. Her coach posted a photo of her pulling her eyes back with chopsticks, a gesture many perceived as racist, prompting the Spaniard to issue an apology.

Similarly, Magda Linette faced backlash after captioning her journey from Beijing to Wuhan with “the virus database has been updated,” referencing Covid-19 and Wuhan as the city where the pandemic originated. The Polish player also apologised following criticism on social media.

According to The I Paper, Portia Archer warned players about distasteful content, stating: “Distasteful content of any kind … will not be tolerated. Tournaments and countries host us as their guests at considerable effort and expense, and it is of absolute importance to respect the local culture of the regions we compete in, all of which make our global Tour a success,” she said.

While Archer did not directly address any specific players, she urged greater caution about social media posts and respect for diverse cultures worldwide: “Distasteful content of any kind (such as images, references, text, video) relating to the culture, history, or hurtful stereotypes of a group of people or a region is inconsistent with the values the WTA represents and will not be tolerated.”

She added: “Not only do such harmful actions generate negative coverage and reflect poorly on the athlete, but they also impact women’s professional tennis as a whole, along with having negative effects on the hard-working team and staff that organise WTA events.”

Archer referred to the WTA’s Code of Conduct and warned of potential sanctions for players who fail to heed this warning: “These actions can also pose a risk around the entire tournament, with security, transport, and other areas all put in potential jeopardy. I will take action and responsibility for holding all of us accountable to the standards of the Code.”

The WTA has emphasised particular care in countries like China and Saudi Arabia, which host some of the Tour's highest-paying tournaments but face criticism for human rights issues. Many opposed the Tour’s return to China following the Peng Shuai disappearance controversy in 2022. Others criticised the WTA's presence in Saudi Arabia due to its history of human rights violations, gender inequality, and lack of LGBTQ+ rights.

Archer noted in her email: “We often play in environments and countries that have different customs, different cultures, and in some cases different value systems than I might have personally or that the WTA may have as an organisation based in the United States. We respect the values, even if they differ from other countries that we find ourselves in and compete in.”