Madrid Open: Controversy Erupts as WTA Star Accuses Tournament Director Feliciano Lopez of Blatant Bias

While much of the action has happened on the tennis court this season, the year hasn’t been short of controversies. From Simona Halep’s doping appeal to Novak Djokovic’s burst of emotions at the Monte Carlo Masters, we have seen it all. Recently, another controversy occurred at the Mutua Madrid Open after WTA star, Ellen Perez, made a shocking revelation.

With the main draw action just a few days away in Madrid, top players are sweating it out during practice sessions. However, the tournament has set bizarre rules for practice sessions that haven’t gone down well with the WTA doubles star Perez.

Ellen Perez reveals Madrid Open bias for doubles specialists

Recently, a tweet by a fan slamming the Madrid Open went viral on social media. The fan revealed how the tournament didn’t allow women’s doubles finalists to speak after the match and slammed tournament director Feliciano Lopez for this episode. Subsequently, WTA star, Ellen Perez, took this opportunity to highlight another glaring problem at the tournament.

Taking a dig at Lopez, she said, “Now he just doesn’t let any women’s doubles players to practice on site between 9-5pm.” This is a bizarre rule implemented by the tournament as the players are devoid of quality practice courts. On the contrary, the players are sent to off-site courts during this time. However, the conditions there are much different than the tournament venue, which practically makes no sense.

The Madrid Open hasn’t been short of controversies over the past few years. Take the example of the previous year when fans were shocked to witness the difference between the quality of the birthday cakes given to Aryna Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz. As a result, Perez had some strong words against the tournament and its management.

Perez calls the tournament ‘a disgrace’

Being in the news for all the wrong reasons, there have been shouts of misogyny against Feliciano Lopez and the tournament’s management. Even the WTA star Perez vented out her frustration over the controversy of practice courts.

She took to social media and said, “We aren’t allowed time on site to practice it’s a joke. Only 8am or 6pm. So not a lot of doubles teams bother because it’s such a shit time to practice. This tournament is a disgrace.”

This is not the start that Lopez and his team would have hoped for. Even before the main draw, the tournament caught the attention for all the wrong reasons. Nonetheless, fans will hope that the on-court action takes over and the tournament can witness some epic battles.