Jessica Pegula is the latest star to offer their opinion on Coco Gauff’s recent ‘invasion of privacy’ at the Australian Open.
This comes after the young American was filmed smashing her racket in the hallways of the Rod Laver Arena straight after her loss to Elina Svitolina.
Having bottled up what must have been so much emotion, the 21-year-old likely thought she was safe, having travelled deep into the bowels of the arena.
Alas, as Jessica Pegula would note, nowhere is safe anymore for the players except the locker room.
Coco Gauff’s outburst has naturally spread like wildfire, and many have rushed to her defence.
Jessica Pegula slams the Australian Open for Coco Gauff’s treatment
Pegula was one such protector, admitting: “Yeah, I’m not a fan of the cameras.”
Honing in on Gauff’s racket-smashing incident specifically, she continued: “I saw that last night, and I was, like, geez. It’s the same thing when Aryna lost the final. I was, like, can you just let the girls have like a moment to themselves?
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“Honestly we were talking about cameras years ago. I remember when Maddie Keys, her number one priority on council was, we have to stop with these cameras. This is crazy.
“I think they ended up putting up signs so people knew there were cameras, but this year it feels even worse. I mean, I see, like, I’ll be in the gym, and there’s video of me, like, walking into the site. I saw people that I didn’t even know was happening in areas that you don’t think someone is kind of watching you. It’s in every single hallway.”
Gauff spoke out about the lack of privacy in her Australian Open press conference, and Pegula echoed that sentiment in hers: “Coco wasn’t wrong when she said the only place is the locker room, which is crazy. You know, you’re just kind of going about your day. To feel like someone is constantly filming you, I saw online people were Zooming in on players’ phones and stuff like that. That’s so unnecessary. I just think it’s really an invasion of privacy.
“I mean, we’re on the court on TV. You come inside, you’re on TV. Literally, the only time you’re not being recorded is when you are going to shower and go to the bathroom.
“I think that’s something that we need to cut back on, for sure. Yeah, I don’t think what Coco did was wrong. I don’t think what Aryna did was wrong. It’s just people happen to be watching it. You just feel like you’re under a microscope constantly.
“Then people obviously post it online, and then they either take it out of context or judge you on a moment that shouldn’t be a moment. It should be a private moment.”
Pegula concluded with one final frustrated speech: “I really, really am not a fan. I’ve had the tournament tell me to take down some stuff because they own footage and stuff like that. I’m, like, Are you serious? I post something that has to be taken down, but then you can see me on every single hallway that I’m walking in and post it online? It’s not cool.
“Yeah, I think Coco was right to call it out. It’s definitely not something new, especially on a council perspective. It seems to be worse here than maybe other years, so I think now it’s going to definitely be talked about and highlighted again moving forward.
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Having spoken about this lack of privacy in her press conference, Gauff followed that up with a defiant message about respecting her emotions on social media.
It is a valid claim to make, as it does dehumanise the players, treating them like ‘zoo animals’, as Iga Swiatek put it in her Australian Open complaint.
Gauff would claim: “Yeah, I kind of have a thing with the broadcast. I feel like certain moments — the same thing happened to Aryna after I played her in final of US Open. I feel like they don’t need to broadcast.
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“I tried to go somewhere where I thought there wasn’t a camera, because I don’t necessarily like breaking racquets, but I lost 1 and 2. I broke one racquet on quarters, I think, or round of 16 of French Open, I think, and I said I would never do it again on court, because I don’t feel like that’s a good representation.
“But yeah, I tried to go somewhere where they wouldn’t broadcast it, but obviously they did. So, yeah, maybe some conversations can be had, because I feel like at this tournament the only private place we have is the locker room.”
