Madrid Open: Irked Tennis Fans Vent Out Frustration on Ex-American WTA Star for Her Commentary During Aryna Sabalenka-Iga Swiatek Final

The Madrid Open final between Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka had everything that one could have asked for. From breathtaking points to endless rallies, the World No. 1 and No. 2 made a good case for it to be called the “Match of the Year.” While the audience at Caja Mágica saw Swiatek break into tears at her first Madrid Open victory live, American fans at home weren’t too happy to be hearing CoCo Vandeweghe for the 3-hour and 11-minute long game.

Already unpopular from her commentary at Indian Wells in March, this fresh presence at the desk was infuriating. Vandeweghe hung up her racket last year and while some agree that her knowledge of tennis is unmatched, not everyone has the grace to sit behind a mic during crucial matches. During the 2024 Australian Open, Vandeweghe infamously slandered Jelena Ostapenko during her game against Vika by joking with fellow commentator Andrea Petkovic that the Latvian had a “reputation of resorting to dark arts to win tennis matches”.

Well, the retired Vandeweghe’s presence at one of the most crucial matches of the year was bound to ruffle some feathers. Many took to social media to slam the Tennis Channel authorities for poor decision-making yet again. One could not help but express astonishment “coco vandeweghe commentating the FINAL??? tennis channel omg,” clearly reliving the bad old days. After retiring in 2023, Vandeweghe is not being welcomed back with open arms.

Another fan suggested that while the two best players in the world are in action against each other, they looked ahead to watch one of the most awaited matches. But someone was there to ruin the fun. “We have the great 2 top players in the world battling today and we have to deal with CoCo Vandeweghe?” said the fan. But the one thing they disliked seeing was Coco Vandeweghe’s commentary, who is known for going off on tangents from her personal life.

This fan could not hold his emotions and pulled out an image of a cat who was having a much more difficult time. They captioned it, “Coco Vandeweghe commentating,” with the image saying ‘hate’. Because the retired tennis star somehow always finds a way to rebuke a player for a personal vendetta apparently!

Next, this fan suggested that the fun of the match was spoiled by seeing Coco doing commentator.“@TennisChannel why old players are talk going on during the Madrid open final? It’s spoiled the game, didn’t like watching the match,” reiterated a fan, whose fun of an immensely exciting game was spoiled just because of Vandeweghe.

Another one went all in and asked the authorities that they should do something about the sound of the commentator. “@TennisChannel Please do something about the horrible sound of the commentators’ mike in the Madrid final right now,” they said. It was accompanied by a GIF of Rita Ora putting her hands on her ears as if the sound was physically hurtful.

CoCo Vandeweghe might have the essential knowledge to be a commentator but her audiences cannot get over her personal commentary. The American once even said that Maria Sharapova, known for her grunts during matches, shot herself in the foot with this habit, which hindered her Wimbledon win when the two faced off in 2015.

Those not subjected to the play-by-play critique were enthralled by the top 2 WTA players fighting it out. In a match that had all the twists and turns, it was Iga Swiatek who laid her hands on the title.

Iga Swiatek defeats Aryna Sabalenka and wins the title at the Madrid Open

Grabbing her 20th WTA title, Iga Swiatek claimed what could have been Aryna Sabalenka’s third Madrid title. The match started with all the buzz in the air and Iga Swiatek went ahead to claim the first set easily with the score of 7-5. However, a determined Sabalenka made sure that she gave her all in, going hard on her strokes. It eventually paid off and she managed to pull off the second set 6-4.

But as it went to the decider, neither agreed to give up; but it was Iga Swiatek who had the last laugh as she won the match and secured the title in her 9th meeting with Saba.

Although the H2H record lies in favor of the Pole, this might just be the beginning of a new era of rivalry!