"WTA needs to seek clarification on the matter and punish the tournament" - Tennis fans react to Jessica Pegula's statements on Madrid Open ceremony

Tennis fans slammed the Madrid Open organizeres after Jessica Pegula spoke out on the controversy surrounding the women's doubles final.

Pegula partnered Coco Gauff in Madrid, and the pair lost 6-1, 6-4 to Victoria Azarenka and Beatriz Haddad Maia in the title clash. However, neither pair was allowed to speak during the presentation ceremony, something that was widely criticized by many.

Jessica Pegula was asked about the incident during her pre-tournament press conference at the Italian Open. The American replied that while Azarenka and herself knew that something would happen, they did not expect not to be allowed to speak.

"Yeah, what happened in Madrid, it was really disappointing. I know a lot of like what happened, detail leading up to the event, just because Vika and I are on players council. I had a feeling something was going to happen," Pegula said.

"Did I think we were not going to be able to speak, no. I've never heard of that, like, in my life. Even in a 10K challenger final you would speak. I don't know what century everyone was living in when they made that decision or how they actually had a conversation and decided, like, 'Wow, this is a great decision we're going to do and there's going to be no-backlash against this,'" she added.

Following Pegula's statements, journalist Stuart Fraser said that he asked the Madrid Open to comment on the matter. However, the tournament refused to do so.

Tennis fans have been criticizing the Madrid Open ever since, with one fan even stating that the WTA needs to investigate the matter and punish the tournament.

"Omg that's outrageous. @WTA needs to seek clarification on the matter and punish the tournament," the fan's tweet read.

@stu_fraser omg that's outrageous. @WTA needs to seek clarification on the matter and punish the tournament

Another fan said that the Madrid Open needed to apologize for what happened.

"Madrid and (possibly IMG?) are being complete idiots, to avoid using a stronger word. They should come up with an excuse, apologise profusely, and promise never to make the same mistake again. How hard is that?" the fan's tweet read.

Madrid and (possibly IMG?) are being complete idiots, to avoid using a stronger word. They should come up with an excuse, apologise profusely, and promise never to make the same mistake again. How hard is that? twitter.com/stu_fraser/sta…

Another fan stated that the Madrid Open not commenting on the matter implied that they disliked women.

"Translation: We don't like women, especially when they speak their mind and give their opinions," the fan's tweet read.

translation: we don't like women, especially when they speak their mind and give their opinions. twitter.com/stu_fraser/sta…

Here are some more fan reactions:

@stu_fraser Glad you asked. Hopefully they will be barraged with questions about this.

@stu_fraser @feliciano_lopez you should be ashamed

People pretending nothing about IMG? Feli is just a puppet of IMG.🤣 Next puppet will do the same. twitter.com/stu_fraser/sta…

i find it funny that people are telling stef to never play with lopez again as if he cares about women either 💀 twitter.com/stu_fraser/sta…

I hope Stef will never play doubles with Feli again! twitter.com/stu_fraser/sta…

I often think that the response “ just say you hate women” is overreacting but this case just does not show that it would be any other way twitter.com/stu_fraser/sta…

Madrid Open also faced backlash after the women's singles final presentation ceremony

Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka during the Madrid Open women's singles final ceremony

Women's singles finalists Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka both called out the Madrid Open during the women's singles final presentation ceremony. Swiatek took a dig at the tournament's scheduling, claiming that she didn't find playing at 1 AM "fun."

"It’s not fun to play at 1 AM though, so I’m happy anyway that I was able to get past this experience and survive and be in the final," the Pole said.

Sabalenka meanwhile addressed the drama created by her birthday cake being a lot smaller than Carlos Alcaraz's, joking that the cake played a role in her victory.

"I think it's all because of yesterday's cake. It was too good," she said.

Tennis fans got a laugh out of the situation, but many also slammed Madrid Open director Feliciano Lopez for his alleged role in the whole controversy.