JESSICA PEGULA and Mirra Andreeva have both laughed off the catty “diva” comments ahead of the start of the WTA Finals.

American world No.5 Pegula, 32, was heard bad-mouthing her Russian rival in a training-session chat with coach Mark Knowles on a live YouTube stream of the Indian Wells practice courts.

Pegula – who thought they were having a private conversation – said the reigning French Open champion might be a “nice girl” but “she’s just a diva”.

After they had practised together, the former US Open finalist reckoned Andreeva “needs to be humble” and that coach Conchita Martinez, a former Wimbledon champion, should stand up to her and “put her in her place”.

Those comments went viral but the WTA apologised, saying they did not inform the players and their teams that what they said could be heard on a live online link.

During a glamour photoshoot to promote the season-ending WTA Finals in California, Andreeva, 19, posted a photo of her standing with Pegula on her Instagram account, with the caption: “DIVAS.”

The snap was accompanied by emojis that represented finger nails and blowing a kiss.

Pegula saw the funny side, too, and responded to the message by saying: “Divas in Chanel.”

Florida-based Pegula and Cannes resident Andreeva have never played each other in a competitive match.

And the duo are in opposite groups in the eight-woman event at Tennis Paradise, which carries a total prize pot of $8million (£6million).

Following the incident the WTA, the sport’s governing body, have since taken down all videos of practice sessions from their official YouTube page.

WTA chair Valerie Camillo personally said sorry to Pegula and Knowles for allowing their interaction with her coach to be aired to millions without her knowledge.

The US sports executive said: “First, I want to apologise on behalf of the entire WTA for these occurrences.

“The WTA is sensitive to player privacy and has policies and procedures in place to balance players’ needs for safe spaces with opportunities to bring fans closer to the game.

“There were several breakdowns in our execution of the livestream given our own policies and procedures.

“There was a lack of advanced notice and clear signage to assist players about the recording equipment operating in the area.

“It was also not our intention to capture conversations on the livestream of practices, but rather to record ambient sound.

“So clearly there was a failure in our technical execution and monitoring.

“As the chair of the WTA, I’m committed to leading an organization that delivers the best for our players, tournaments and fans. Our execution here did not meet that standard.”