After losing 6-1, 6-2 against Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinal, Coco Gauff quietly walked out of Rod Laver Arena. She found her way into the tunnel, where she smashed her racket and vented her frustration. The video was shared online by the broadcasters.
Since then, Gauff had blasted the broadcasters for airing the footage, saying that such off-court moments shouldn’t be televised.
“I feel like at this tournament the only private place we have is the locker room,” Gauff said. “I tried to go somewhere where I thought there wasn’t a camera cause I don’t necessarily like breaking rackets.”
A lot of fellow tennis athletes have also joined her while raising privacy concerns at the ongoing Australian Open. This includes Jessica Pegula, Novak Djokovic and Amanda Anisimova.
“I’m not a fan of the cameras… Same thing when Aryna lost the final, I was like can you just let the girls have like a moment to ourselves?” Pegula said.
An Instagram post involving comments from various tennis stars regarding the privacy issue was shared online.
Under the comments section, a user tried taking a dig at women’s tennis stars by saying that if they wish to remove the cameras, they should be willing to let go 80% of their prize money. In response, Coco Gauff’s father, Corey, blasted the user, writing:
“When you have more posts then followers means what.”
Australian Open Taking Steps To Eliminate Privacy Concerns After Coco Gauff Outburst
The organizers of the Australian Open have got into action after multiple players raised privacy concerns. Tennis Australia acknowledged the concerns and is discussing adjustments to better balance player privacy and fan engagement.
“We want to listen to the players, we want to really understand what their needs and what their wants are,” he said, “so that’s the first question we’ll ask; we’ve heard you and whatever adjustments we need to make, we will make,” Tennis Australia CEO and Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley said via Reuters.
“We’ll continue to review it and make sure that the players are comfortable with it. But at the same time, we also want to bring the fan and the player closer. We believe, as tennis players, we can really lift up their value and the love the fans have for them. But it’s a fine line that we have to keep walking.”
Even the WTA has backed the idea of having “private” zones where players can be themselves without the fear of privacy invasion.
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