WTA apologises after hot mic catches Pegula’s remarks about Andreeva at WTA Finals

The WTA apologised on 2026-11-05 after a hot microphone picked up Jessica Pegula making critical comments about Mirra Andreeva during a practice session at the WTA Finals in Indian Wells; the exchange was broadcast on the tour’s YouTube livestream.

The remarks, captured during on-court practice, involved a conversation between Pegula and her coach Mark Knowles and referenced Andreeva and her coach Conchita Martínez. Pegula can be heard calling the 19-year-old a "diva" and saying she had lost respect for Martínez for not addressing the behaviour. Pegula said: "If I was a coach and my girl, you just played four great games, and you’re up four-zero, and you’re mad at me, hitting balls at me, I would be like, first of all, [that’s] disrespectful to the other person," Pegula said. "You’re up 4-0, shut the fuck up. But she just can’t." Pegula also told her coach that Andreeva "would be better than her fellow American Coco Gauff if she had the same mentality."

A WTA spokesperson issued a statement accepting responsibility for the broadcast and for failing to inform players and their teams that microphones on the courts were active. "The WTA takes full responsibility for failing to inform our players and their teams that microphones, in place to give fans a livestream of the players’ practice, were active on the courts at the WTA Finals. "We sincerely apologize for failing to meet our responsibility to ensure players and coaches were properly informed." The tour said it had intended the microphones to capture ambient sounds from the court and acknowledged it "failed to ensure the appropriate safeguards were in place," adding it would continue to livestream practice sessions without audio.

The livestream also captured an apparent spat between world No 1 Elena Rybakina and her coach during a separate practice session, an incident the tour did not initially flag to viewers. That exchange, like the Pegula-Andreeva conversation, drew attention once it circulated from the WTA’s practice feeds.

Tournament information published by the tour notes that the WTA Finals feature the year’s top eight singles players and doubles teams; Pegula and Andreeva have been drawn into different groups and therefore cannot meet until the semi-finals. The tour confirmed the practice feeds would remain available to fans but without sound following the inquiry into microphone use.

The episode follows an earlier debate at the Australian Open in January over broadcasting from backstage areas, when Coco Gauff was filmed smashing a racket in what she regarded as a private space. Gauff called for greater privacy, and former world No 1 Iga Świątek said players "were being treated like animals in a zoo."

The WTA Finals begin on Sunday.