Tennis players understand better than most athletes that they need to put themselves forward as spokespeople to promote their sport, but they should also expect some respect to come back for that co-operation.

Many working in the football media in the UK have found it increasingly difficult to operate in an environment that has seen top clubs freeze out media not associated with the club in a bid to control their narrative.

That path has also been followed in other sports, but tennis players have always been more willing to give up their time to speak to the media and take part in official pre-tournament promotional events.

If a member of the outside media crosses the line and leaves a player in an uncomfortable position, they can expect access to be restricted as their reputation takes a hit.

When the official channels being operated by tournaments or their own tournament officials make a mistake that leaves a player at the heart of a media storm, the damage done is even more acute.

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It’s tough for tournaments to ask players to promote an event if they have been thrown under the bus by those putting in the request and that must have been the emotions Jessica Pegula felt after the storm the preceded this year’s WTA Finals in Indian Wells.

Pegula and her coaches were not informed that microphones were live and being broadcast to the world on the practice courts when she made comments suggesting rival Mirra Andreeva was ‘a diva’, which inevitably sparked a huge storm.

Understandably, Pegula was furious that what she thought was a private conversation reached a huge audience and while the WTA Tour issued a fulsome apology for their lack of communication, the damage has been done.

“Obviously I had no idea and was not informed that audio was being recorded, but it is what it is,” said Pegula.

“I think it’s something that we have fought a lot over the last couple years, as there’s a lot more surveillance and audio and I guess access to the players at tournaments than there has been in the past.

“I know for broadcasting that it’s great for fans, but I think we’ve seen a couple of incidents now throughout the year, [the] last couple of years really, where it just seems highly unnecessary. And yeah, I think [this will] definitely reignite the topic and hopefully we can use this incident to keep pushing for more player privacy.”

This is not the first time Pegula and other players have hit out at tournaments for broadcasting what they thought was private moments, with ‘behind the scenes’ racket smashes by Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka broadcast at the Australian Open and US Open in a bid to attract social media interaction.

“The ­question is, are we tennis players or are we animals in the zoo where they are observed even when they poop? That was exaggerating, obviously, but it would be nice to have some privacy. It would be nice also to have your own process and not always be observed,” said former world No 1 Iga Swiatek, as she waded in on this issue earlier this year.

“I don’t think it should be like that because we’re tennis players, we’re meant to be watched on the court and in the press, that’s our job.

“It’s not our job to be a meme when you forget your accreditation. It’s funny, for sure, people have something to talk about. But, for us, I don’t think it’s necessary.”

Those running tennis will be quick to reprimand a journalist if they fail in their duty to ask them not to use a quote in a media interview they should have controlled, but an incident of that variety will be quickly forgotten.

When the break in trust comes from the organisation that should be working to promote the sport, it is harder to repair broken bridges.

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The WTA Tour will learn from their mistakes that overshadowed the start to their biggest event of 2026, but the players won’t forget the betrayal they feel when incidents like the Pegula ‘hot mic’ controversy blow up.

Tennis needs to do better to promote the game and also to ensure the players are protected and those involved in the WTA Finals fiasco should be grateful that the players involved are still taking part in media activities after they were so badly let down.