“Conchita has always been very nice to me, but I lost a little bit of respect for her,” Pegula said. “She’s a diva. He must be humbled. Conchita eggs on his behavior.”
Pegula also praised the game of the 19-year-old player. “In Coco’s way of thinking,” he told Knowles, Andreeva would be better than Coco Gauff.
WTA takes “full responsibility”.
The WTA said it took “full responsibility for not informing our players and their teams that the microphones that provide fans with a live stream of players’ practice were active on the courts.” “We sincerely apologize for failing to fulfill our responsibility to ensure that players and coaches were properly informed,” the statement said.
“The microphones were designed to capture the sounds of the tennis environment, not the conversations of players or coaches,” the WTA added. “We are still live streaming practice, but there will be no recording.”
A spokesman for Pegula said he was “completely unaware” that the conversation could be heard on court microphones and that he had contacted those involved to apologise.
Pegula and Andreeva in different WTA Finals groups
The WTA Finals will be held in Indian Wells from November 8 to 15 before moving to Charlotte from 2027. 32-year-old Pegula is in a group with Coco Gauf, Elena Rybakina and Linda Noskova. Andreeva is in the other group with Arina Sabalenka, Elina Svitolina and Karolina Muchova. The two players can only meet in the semifinals or finals.
