Jessica Pegula is in the eye of the storm at the moment, with the tennis news flow seemingly dominated by her recent comments.
What is so harsh about this situation is that they were claims made not in a sanctioned interview, or even a press conference; she was merely speaking with her coach during a practice session.
A conversation that should have been private was instead aired for thousands to watch live, with millions more likely having viewed the saved and circulated footage.
Almost the entire tennis world has seen Jessica Pegula call Mirra Andreeva a diva.
Was Jessica Pegula out of line with what she said about Mirra Andreeva? 😳
Her response to this controversy thus far has been one of silence, and with good reason. It’s hardly an incident that needs addressing, with the WTA being the ones at fault.
Well, at last, they have released a statement.
WTA Tour releases statement after Jessica Pegula controversy
As they should, they began by absolving the blame: “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.”
The WTA then offered a generalised apology, not explicitly mentioning Pegula, but writing: “We sincerely apologise for failing to meet our responsibility to ensure players and coaches were properly informed.”
Then, in an article published by The Athletic on the subject, they actually managed to get in contact with ‘a representative’ for the American star, who claimed she ‘had absolutely no idea that her conversation with Mark was being livestreamed and certainly never expected a private discussion during practice to be made public.’
It was also noted that Pegula reached out to those involved, likely Andreeva and Coco Gauff, to apologise.
When is Jessica Pegula’s next match?
Rather interestingly, Pegula will actually face Gauff in her first match since this controversy.
This will mark her first match of this year’s WTA Finals, played this Sunday.
This American duo make up half of Group 1, which also boasts Elena Rybakina and Linda Noskova.
The other group consists of Aryna Sabalenka, Elina Svitolina, Andreeva and Karolina Muchova. Pegula would need to top her group whilst Andreeva finishes as a runner-up to pit them against one another, or vice versa.
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