Madrid Open chief executive Gerard Tsobanian has issued a public apology after players were denied the opportunity to make presentation speeches in the women's doubles final.
Belarus' Victoria Azarenka and Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia overcame American duo Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff 6-1 6-4 in Sunday's final, which was expected to have been followed with the customary on-court speeches.
However, to the surprise of all four players, they were not permitted to address the crowd, while the men's doubles and both singles tournaments went ahead with their presentation speeches as expected.
The decision was widely condemned by players and fans alike, with Pegula, Azarenka and Gauff all voicing their opinions and criticising the organisers' decision.
"I don't know what century everyone was living in when they made that decision. Or how they had a conversation and decided, 'Wow, this is a great decision and there's going to be no-backlash against this," Pegula told the press.
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"I've never heard in my life we wouldn't be able to speak. It was really disappointing. In a $10,000 final you would speak. It spoke for itself. We were upset when it happened and told during the trophy ceremony we weren't able to speak. It kind of proved a point."
Meanwhile, Azarenka said on Twitter that it was "hard to explain" to her young son why she could not address him after the match, while Gauff claimed that a tweet would not have been sufficient to say what she would have wanted to during her proposed on-court speech.
After initially refusing to comment on the matter, Madrid Open chiefs have now apologised for the "unacceptable" decision and affirmed that they are working with the WTA to ensure that such an incident does not occur again.
"We sincerely apologise to all the players and fans who expect more of the Mutua Madrid Open tournament," Tsobanian said in a statement.
"Not giving our women's doubles finalists the chance to address their fans at the end of the match was unacceptable and we have apologised directly to Victoria, Beatriz, Coco and Jessica.
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"We are working internally and with the WTA (Women's Tennis Association) to review our protocols and are committed to improving our process moving forward. We made a mistake and this will not ever happen again."
The lack of women's doubles speeches was one of several sexism-related rows at the Madrid Open, where reigning men's champion and home favourite Carlos Alcaraz was presented with a striking cake on the court to celebrate his 20th birthday on May 5.
Australian Open women's champion Aryna Sabalenka shared her 25th birthday with Alcaraz and was also given a cake, but the Belarusian's token was far more modest than the Spaniard's.
The tournament also came under fire for ball girls wearing crop tops and short skirts, before a last-minute outfit change saw longer skirts introduced for the men's singles final, which Alcaraz won in three sets against German lucky loser Jan-Lennard Struff.
Ben Knapton
