Tournament director Feliciano Lopez responded to Ons Jabeur’s assertion that the Madrid Open favored men and should respect women more by taking a critical stance and acknowledging that there were lessons to be learned from the previous year’s issues.
Cakegate, ball girls wearing scant clothes until they were changed, and the doubles championship match where Victoria Azarenka’s comments about Cakegate hushed the women’s players were some of the events from the previous year. Lopez faced further criticism as a result, and he continues to face inquiries of the same nature this year.We still have a ways to go, in my opinion, particularly in Madrid, Rome, and throughout Europe. Initially, Jabeur replied, “I think they should appreciate women more and the way we are playing.
When questioned about it, Lopez stated that he didn’t think it was fair to have that tact and that lessons had been learned from the problems of the previous year. “I believe there were a couple things we did improperly the previous year. Although we always learn from our mistakes, I must admit that we were the first tournament to award women and men with equal prize money. Saying that we don’t treat men and women equally doesn’t seem fair to me. We’re performing admirably in that regard.I can see your dissatisfaction with some things because practice sessions and transportation can go awry during a competition. However, we make an effort to be fair and equal. We must go on and make an effort to treat everyone fairly.”
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