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Victoria Azarenka has broken her silence after the 2023 Madrid Open final fiasco, where the champions and runners-up were not given a chance to speak at the presentation ceremony.
On Sunday, May 7, the pair of Victoria Azarenka and Beatriz Haddad Maia clinched the Madrid Open women’s doubles title by defeating Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula 6-1, 6-4 in the final. But the tennis world was left stunned when the tournament organizers didn't let either team speak on the podium.
The finalists eventually had to express themselves on social media, and Azarenka made a tweet about what could have been her winner’s speech. She also expressed her disbelief at being denied the opportunity to thank her team, stating that she had no answer to give to her six-year-old son Leo regarding the shocking incident.
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“I would like to say thank you to all the fans for coming out and supporting us! Thank you to Bia for an incredible week! Our first title together! Congrats to @JLPegula and @CocoGauff for the final and your teams! Thank you to all the people behind the scenes for working hard! I would like to say thank you to my team for your hard work and support! An unforgettable week," Victoria Azarenka said.
"Hard to explain to Leo that mommy isn’t able to say hello to him at the trophy ceremony," the former World No. 1 added.
It is worth noting that the men’s doubles winners Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov were given the opportunity to make their respective speeches after their final on Saturday.
The move by the organizers to allegedly silence the women's doubles teams came after various other controversies. There was a big difference in the birthday celebrations of Madrid Open singles champions Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka, and Iga Swiatek also raised a complaint about bad scheduling during her runner-up speech on Saturday.
"This is sad and unacceptable" - Ons Jabeur rallies behind Victoria Azarenka and Coco Gauff after Madrid Open debacle
The tennis world, including Wimbledon and US Open runner-up Ons Jabeur, expressed shock at the Madrid Open organizers preventing Victoria Azarenka, Beatriz Haddad Maia, Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula from speaking.
Gauff herself claimed that the Madrid Open had snubbed the finalists during the trophy ceremony, and Jabeur responded that the incident was unfortunate, sad and unacceptable.
"So unfortunate that you were not given a chance to address the crowd and your opponents. This is sad and unacceptable," Jabeur wrote on social media.
Serena Williams’ ex-coach Rennae Stubbs voiced similar disbelief and asked former World No. 12 and current Madrid Open tournament director Feliciano Lopez for answers.
"Wait, you didn’t have speeches for the women’s finalist!????? What??? Can someone explain this to me like I’m 5 and never been in this situation!!!??? @feliciano_lopez" Stubbs said.
"So for a tournament to deny players a speech after they win a @WTA 1000 is a DISGRACE!! I hope the WTA never allow this to happen again. What was the reason @MutuaMadridOpen and @WTA ???" she added.
As it stands, the tournament has yet to issue a clarification on the incident.
