"Patronizing tone; They don't even pretend" - Fans in disbelief as Jimmy Arias chosen as Citi Open announcer despite 'sexist' remarks on Iga Swiatek

Tennis fans were stunned to find out that commentator Jimmy Arias was chosen as an announcer just days after his impolite comments towards World No. 1 Iga Swiatek came to light.

Former World No. 5 Jimmy Arias was recently embroiled in controversy over his comments about four-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek. The Pole has been dominating women’s tennis since 2022. She has held on to her top spot ever since her debut in April last year, and has won 12 titles in the past 18 months, including three Grand Slams.

However, despite her outstanding achievements, Jimmy Arias, who now works as a commentator for Tennis Channel and ESPN, opined that the Pole hasn’t been great for women's tennis. Elaborating on his view, the 58-year-old blamed Swiatek's decision to wear a hat on court. He added that the head gear resulted in people not connecting with her.

“From my standpoint, I don’t think she’s been great for women’s tennis,” Arias said on the “Inside In” podcast.

“Because she wears her hat so low that you can’t even see her face or her eyes during a match, so you don’t get a connection as much as you could. I don’t mind her getting angry in some ways, but I want to see her personality,” he added.

Arias received immense backlash for his seemingly sexist remarks.

However, despite the recent controversy, Tennis Channel revealed that the commentor will serve as an announcer for this week’s ATP and WTA tournaments, including the Citi Open, alongside Jenson Brooksby, Andrea Petkovic and seven other male commentators.

Tennis fans expressed their displeasure about the decision on social media.

“Jimmy Arias, yes, great choice,” one fan said, sarcastically.

Another fan also highlighted that Jenson Brooksby has been offered the role despite his current ‘suspended’ status, and former player Andrea Petkovic is the only woman included alongside the nine men.

“This is bad on so many levels. Homogenous, male majority and a player that is banned,” the fan said.

Here are a few more reactions from tennis fans:

---

"Another horrible take" – Nick Kyrgios on Jimmy Arias' remarks on Iga Swiatek

Previews: The Championships - Wimbledon 2023

Nick Kyrgios too lashed out at commentator Jimmy Arias for his controversial take on Iga Swiatek.

Similar to the World No. 1, the Aussie player found himself on the receiving end of the former player’s mockery earlier this week.

Arias commented on the player’s absence from the tour and joked that it was probably his newly done tattoos that were preventing him from playing, rather than his claim of knee or wrist injuries.

“He's played once so far this year. I'm not sure [his] wrist, knee [or] his tattoo is hurting him too much [from playing] Pokemon maybe. I don't know,” he jokingly said on Tennis Channel.

Kyrgios did not take kindly to the comments and said to the former World No. 5.

“@ariastennis you got some sort of issue? I’d appreciate if you kept my name out of your mouth,” he wrote on Twitter.

The 2022 Wimbledon runner-up also slammed Jimmy Arias for his controversial take on Iga Swiatek.

“Another horrible take,” Kyrgios said.