Madrid Open sexism row: From silencing women finalists, cake gate to controversial ball girl outfits

The Madrid Open concluded on May 07 (Sunday) with Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka winning the singles title (in men and women category, respectively). On the other hand, Victoria Azarenka and Beatriz Haddad Maia won the women’s doubles whereas Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev clinched the title in the men’s category. However, the event made heads turn for quite a lot of wrong reasons.

The tournament has been thrashed left, right, and centre for its unsavoury treatment of female players. From silencing the women finalists, and ‘sexist’ ball girl outfits to contrasting birthday cakes presented to Alcaraz and Sabalenka, many strange decisions taken by the organisers left tennis fans fuming. 

Silencing women finalists

American duo Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff conceded the women’s doubles final to Victoria Azarenka and Beatriz Haddad Maia, losing 1-6, 4-6. To the surprise of many, none of the players were allowed to address the audience. However, the same was not the case for the men’s doubles finalists.

“What happened in Madrid, it was really disappointing … I had a feeling something was going to happen,” Pegula told reporters, on Tuesday (May 9), prior to the commencement of the ongoing Italian Open.

“Did I think we were not going to be able to speak? No. I’ve never heard of that … in my life. I don’t know what century everyone was living in when they made that decision,” the world number three Pegula added.

Meanwhile, BBC Sport quoted organisers as saying of the decision: “The tournament will not comment on the matter.”

The 19-year-old Gauff highlighted, “I have a lot of finals, so it’s not about that,” she told reporters. “It’s more about the principle behind it, so this can’t happen again for future girls, take the opportunity away from them.”

Moreover, the organisers were severely criticised for dressing the ball girls on the main court in crop tops and short skirts. After the backlash, the skirts were swapped for long shorts ahead of the men’s singles final, on Sunday, however, the crop tops remained as is.

Pilar Calvo, spokesperson for The Association for Women in Professional Sports, told Spanish outlet Público, “It’s a feminized way of treating girls versus guys who don’t dress like that. In the end, it is a form of sexist violence that is so widespread because people don’t even notice it.”

Not only this, birthday cakes presented to Alcaraz and Sabalenka also drew criticism on social media platforms. A fan posted two photos on Twitter indicating the difference in size of the birthday cakes given to Alcaraz and Sabalenka. The two share a birthday on May 5.

To this, former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu tweeted in response, “That doesn’t look right.”

Victoria Azarenka, a former world number one, replied to the tweet, saying: “Couldn’t be more accurate on the treatment.”

Tournament director Feliciano López also joined in and said in defence, “I’m surprised by this reaction after this gesture! 1. Carlos had just won his match to reach the final. 2. He was playing on centre court. 3. The tournament is played in Spain.”

While the Madrid Open has ended, the tournament has concluded with more questions than answers with regard to the treatment meted out to male and female players in world sports.