The Madrid Open has entered a court of controversy, taking the centre of a sexism row just days after the event was criticised for dressing 'ball girls' in "feminising" outfits.
During the Masters 1000 event – which ended over the weekend with Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka winning the men’s and women’s singles champions, organizers were criticised for dressing the ball girls on the main court in crop tops and short skirts.
Fans were quick to note the difference between the "sexist" outfits worn during men's games and the standard outfits worn by ball boys and girls for women's matches. The tournament changed its policy after Pilar Calvino, a spokesperson for the Spanish Association for Women in Professional Sport, complained about the dress code.
"It's a way of feminising girls with respect to boys who don't dress in the same way," Calvino told online newspaper Público. "Ultimately, it's a form of sexist violence that is so widespread that people don't even notice it."
The skirts were swapped for long shorts in Sunday's final, but the crop tops remained.
The sexism accusations went even further when the women’s doubles finalists accused organizers of not allowing them to speak after the match on Sunday.
Coco Gauff, who suffered a defeat alongside her teammate Jessica Pegula, took to Twitter to confirm none of them were “given the chance to speak" during the presentation ceremony.
Wasn’t given the chance to speak after the final today:( But thank you to the fans for supporting us and women’s tennis this week! Thanks @JLPegula for always keeping it fun on the court and hitting unreal clutch shots hahahaha Lastly, big congratulations Vika and Bia 🎉💗
— Coco Gauff (@CocoGauff) May 7, 2023
