Barbora Krejcikova has criticised “unprofessional commentary” following remarks about her look which had been made on the US TV community Tennis Channel.
The Wimbledon champion was participating within the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia this week, the end result to the common ladies’s season, the place she misplaced to Zheng Qinwen within the semi-finals on Friday.
Apparently not conscious he was on air, Jon Wertheim, a outstanding American tennis journalist, stated of Krejcikova: “Who do you think I am, Barbora Krejcikova? Look at the forehead when Krejcikova and Zheng take the court.”
The clip was circulated on social media, and in response the Czech wrote on X: “You might have heard about the recent comments made on Tennis Channel during the WTA Finals coverage that focused on my appearance rather than my performance.
“As an athlete who has devoted herself to this sport, it was disappointing to see any such unprofessional commentary. This is not the primary time one thing like that is taking place in sports activities world.
“I’ve usually chosen to not converse up, however I consider it is time to handle the necessity for respect and professionalism in sports activities media. These moments distract from the true essence of sport and the dedication all athletes deliver to the sector.
“I love tennis deeply, and I want to see it represented in a way that honours the commitment we make to compete at this level.”
Following Krejcikova’s feedback, Wertheim additionally took to X to apologise.
“During a Tennis Channel studio show on Friday, I made some deeply regrettable comments off-air,” he wrote. “I acknowledge them. I apologise for them. I reached out immediately and apologised to the player.
“I joined the present by Zoom. In rehearsal we had been proven a graphic of a participant who had simply competed. It confirmed her at an angle that exaggerated her brow. A couple of minutes later, I used to be instructed to border up my Zoom. I appeared on the low digital camera angle and joked that it made my brow resemble the participant in query.
“Someone in the control room chimed in and I bantered back. Though this was a private rehearsal, this exchange inadvertently, and without context, made it to live air.
“I realise: I’m not the sufferer right here. It was neither skilled nor charitable nor reflective of the individual I try to be. I’m accountable. I personal this. I’m sorry.”
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