The sporting community gets to witness two tennis superstars celebrating their birthdays on the same day, May 5. Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka are the ones who recently marked the special occasion during their remarkable run at the Madrid Open. As a part of the customary birthday celebration, the tournament’s organizers presented cakes for both players.
However, a huge disparity in the sizes of the cakes caught the attention of the tennis community as the ATP player got a noticeably bigger one than the WTA player. Taking note of the same, many prominent figures including Bianca Andreescu and Victoria Azarenka lashed out at the tournament by labeling it a case of prejudice.
The WTA players react to cakes size disparity faced by Aryna Sabalenka
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The ongoing Madrid Open features a stellar display of tennis from Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka, who have both advanced to the finals. However, the contentious birthday cake incident involving the tennis superstars has drawn many reactions from the entire sporting realm.
In addition to a slew of fans, Bianca Andreescu and Victoria Azarenka are not pleased with the difference in sizes of their cakes that were organized by the tournament. On her social media platform, the former world No. 1 player emphasized the stark discrepancy between how men and women were treated at the renowned clay court event in Madrid. Azarenka tweeted, “Couldn’t be more accurate on the treatment”.
Couldn’t be more accurate on the treatment https://t.co/x89RytI0zV
— victoria azarenka (@vika7) May 5, 2023
Even the Canadian tennis star, Andreescu, didn’t hold herself back from expressing his disappointment over the disparity faced by her peer. She said, “That doesn’t look right”
That doesn’t look right https://t.co/ySiXWiqdNa
— Bianca (@Bandreescu_) May 5, 2023
Apart from the WTA players, some fans also took to Twitter to vent their dismay over the huge discrepancy.
Madrid made Aryna delete her tweet 😭 https://t.co/QbMEPvIlrh
— Ryan (@Some1NamedRyan) May 5, 2023
Mothered both us, Leo and her Belarusian daughter 🙌🏼 pic.twitter.com/0z4sAUYT4C
— DenizTheTennis (@denizthetenis) May 5, 2023
The controversy didn’t end there as the tournament’s director responded to the criticism.
The tournament’s director later defended their controversial decision
After facing scrutiny from both players and fans, Madrid Open director Feliciano Lopez recently came forward to defend their contentious ‘birthday cake’ decision. The former Spanish tennis player listed a number of reasons why his compatriot received a bigger cake.
While expressing his bafflement over the reactions from the tennis community, Lopez tweeted, “1. Carlos had just won his match to reach the final 2. He was playing on centre court 3. The tournament is played in Spain, even though it is an international event”
I’m surprised by this reaction after this gesture!
1. Carlos had just won his match to reach the final
2. He was playing on centre court
3. The tournament is played in Spain, even though it is an international eventPS: I hope Rune wasn’t also upset by his treatment 😜 https://t.co/ApK1IiiD6l pic.twitter.com/1mEoIitXxs
— Feliciano López (@feliciano_lopez) May 5, 2023
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He also brought to light the name of another ATP player, Holger Rune, who also celebrated his birthday during the same tournament in Madrid. Even the Danish tennis player received a smaller cake than his peer, Alcaraz.
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What do you think of the controversial incident involving Alcaraz and Sabalenka? Let us know in the comments section.
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