WTA apologises after practice microphones broadcast private player conversations

The WTA has apologised after courtside microphones broadcast private conversations during practice at Indian Wells, accepting responsibility for failing to tell players and their teams that the equipment was active. According to BBC Sport, the incident involved comments Jessica Pegula made to coach Mark Knowles about fellow player Mirra Andreeva before the season-ending WTA Finals.

Watch the highlights:

The association removed its YouTube streams of Wednesday's practice sessions, although clips had already circulated on social media. BBC Sport reported that the microphones were understood to have been installed to pick up the sound of rallies, rather than conversations between players and coaches. The broadcaster also reported that future practice videos would have no audio.

In its statement, the WTA acknowledged that it had not properly informed those taking part about the microphones used for the livestreams. It accepted responsibility for that failure and apologised to the players and their teams. The statement addressed the lack of notification about recording on the practice courts, where the conversations had been captured during preparations for the tournament.

Pegula's agent, Chris McCormack, told BBC Sport that she had not known the conversation could be picked up by microphones or broadcast publicly. He said she had subsequently contacted the people involved directly, choosing to address the situation personally instead of through media statements. Her conversation included criticism of Andreeva and coach Conchita Martinez, alongside praise for Andreeva's movement, serve and anticipation.

Pegula, the world number five and a member of the WTA players' council, had previously raised concerns about behind-the-scenes filming at the Australian Open in January. BBC Sport reported that she had called for those cameras to be scaled back, describing the extent of the filming as intrusive. Those earlier objections concerned additional cameras at a different tournament, rather than the practice-court microphones involved in this incident.

This year's WTA Finals are being staged at Indian Wells for the first time, beginning on Sunday and running until 15 November. Pegula and world number three Andreeva have been drawn in different groups. Pegula's group includes Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina and Linda Noskova, while a meeting with Andreeva remains possible in the semi-finals or final.