"4 days to come up with this?" - Tennis fans angered by Madrid Open's late and 'unclear' apology after women's doubles final debacle

Tennis fans expressed their disappointment at the organizers of the Madrid Open after they apologized for the controversy surrounding the women's doubles final.

Viktoria Azarenka and Beatriz Haddid Maia defeated Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula in the women's doubles final at the 2023 edition. However, neither pair were allowed to speak during the presentation ceremony. Meanwhile, all four players from the men's doubles final made speeches after their match and this unequal treatment prompted players and fans alike to criticize the organizers.

Seeing the backlash, the Madrid Open organizers stayed silent for a while. However, now the tournament revealed that Gerard Tsobanian, CEO of the Madrid Open, has apologized for the "unacceptable" mistake. Organizers also contacted all four players to personally express regret.

Tennis fans on social media, however, demanded more answers from Tsobanian and were disappointed that the reason behind the decision to not allow speeches was not revealed.

One fan wrote, "OK, but who made the decision? Will anyone be culpable? Acknowledge the many years prior of abhorrent behavior from tournament officials."

Another Twitter user went as far as to suggest:

"I need some top girlies boycotting it next year and I'm dead serious."

Users also condemned the time it took for Madrid Open organizers to apologize.

"The only thing slower than the Madrid tournament was the apology," one tweet read.

"It took over 4 days to come up with this? Not even wrote in notes app," another fan tweeted.

"This was not a mistake, is was blatant misogyny! Shame on you," a fan wrote blasting the tournament.

Here are some more fan reactions:

Madrid Open under scrutiny for many other controversies during the 2023 tournament

Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek

Apart from the uproar after not allowing women's doubles champions and finalists to make their speeches, organizers of the 2023 Madrid Open faced a lot of scrutiny for many other controversial decisions throughout the tournament.

These controversies include presenting Aryna Sabalenka with a smaller birthday cake than the one for Carlos Alcaraz despite both players being ranked World No. 2. The tournament was also called out for the late scheduling of matches, including by Iga Swiatek, and for the outfits of the ball girls used for the big matches in the men's draw.

While many pointed out that Madrid is one of the few big tournaments to award the same prize money to men's and women's champions, many fans accused it of being biased against the WTA and calling the organizer's behavior sexist and misogynistic.