Madrid Open CEO issues apology following Victoria Azarenka, Jessica Pegula trophy ceremony fiasco

Madrid Open CEO Gerard Tsobanian has publicly addressed the trophy ceremony controversy involving Victoria Azarenka, Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff, and Beatriz Haddad Maia for the first time.

During the WTA 1000 event in Madrid on May 7, the winning pair of Azarenka and Haddad Maia, as well as the runner-up pair of Pegula and Gauff, were denied the chance to make a speech after the women’s doubles final.

This sparked outrage, particularly as no finalists from other categories, including the men's doubles, were treated this way.

The tournament CEO Gerard Tsobanian has now issued a public apology four days after the controversy. In a statement on the tournament’s official social media page, Tsobanian admitted that their haphazard decision was “unacceptable.”

“We sincerely apologize to all players and fans who expect more of the Mutua Madrid Open tournament. Not giving our women’s doubles finalists the chance to address their fans at the end of the match was unacceptable,” the statement on Twitter read.

He further revealed that the organizers have since personally apologized to Victoria Azarenka, Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff and Beatriz Haddad Maia.

“We have apologized directly to Victoria, Beatriz, Coco and Jessica,” he wrote.

The CEO also stated that the tournament is coordinating with the WTA and reviewing its protocols in order to avoid a similar blunder in the future.

“We are working internally and with the WTA to review our protocols and are committed to improving our process moving forward. We made a mistake and this will not ever happen again. Gerard Tsobanian, CEO of the Mutua Madrid Open,” the statement concluded.

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"They sent an apology letter; The letter made everything okay" – Jessica Pegula's seemingly sarcastic take on Madrid Open's apology

Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula and Victoria Azarenka discussing the Madrid Open situation after their final

Jessica Pegula, who is contesting the Italian Open, opened up about the Madrid Open incident in a recent press conference.

The World No. 3, who is a member of the players’ council along with Victoria Azarenka, speculated that the tournament, which was embroiled in numerous other controversies, silenced the finalist in an effort to avoid further issues or backlash from the players themselves.

“There seemed to be a lot of drama in Madrid this year on a variety of different things. It just kind of got worse and worse and worse regarding a lot of issues that you guys see online, funny tweets or whatever. I think there were just a lot of things built up that led to that decision, which is unfortunate,” she said in her press conference.

Speaking about the Madrid Open’s personal apology, Pegula revealed that she received a letter from the organizers. The American, however, seemed unimpressed with the bare minimum effort by the tournament as she made a sarcastic statement regarding the apology.

“They sent me an apology letter. The letter made everything okay,” she said, smiling.

The Madrid Open's reason for the incident has yet to be revealed, but they have stated that they are working with the WTA to review their protocols to ensure that such a blunder will not occur again in the future.