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60-Year-Old American Doubles Veteran Takes Sly Dig at WTA Madrid Open as She Urges Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula to Take Bizarre Revenge

Published 05/20/2023, 7:55 AM EDT

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via Imago

Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula make for a dominant women’s doubles pairing. The duo will be contesting yet another final. This time, it’s the 2023 Italian Open women’s doubles final. The last time the two went all the way to the final as a doubles pairing was in Madrid a few days ago. However, the Madrid Open final didn’t quite go their way. In Madrid, Gauff and Pegula were surprisingly beaten by the brand-new pairing of Beatriz Haddad Maia and Victoria Azarenka. An absolute shocker lay in wait for all 4 finalists following the conclusion of the match. The organizers didn’t let any of the finalists make their speeches, and the entire tennis world was up in arms.

Former American doubles legend Pam Shriver took to Twitter in the buildup to the women’s doubles finals at the Italian Open. According to Shriver, the finalists should get more of an opportunity to speak their minds after the match.

Pam Shriver requests Coco Gauff, and the rest of the finalists to make amends for the Madrid debacle

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American Pam Shriver was one of the most feared doubles players across the 1980s and 1990s. She amassed a whopping 133 WTA Tour-level titles, which included 22 doubles majors across the women’s doubles and mixed categories. Unsurprisingly, the former player was aghast with the treatment that the women’s doubles finalists received in Madrid.

 

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Owing to her strong feelings regarding the Madrid mishap, Shriver used Twitter to communicate with Gauff and Pegula. As it turned out, she had a special request to make. She tweeted, “Please make two speeches!” followed by a winking emoji.

Shriver’s tweet was in response to a tweet from Pegula, who quoted the official WTA Twitter handle that confirmed Gauff and Pegula’s place in the women’s doubles final at the 2023 Italian Open. It would be interesting to see if the Italian Open organizers have better sense than the organizers of the Madrid Open.

Coco Gauff Gives a Special Gift to American Partner Jessica Pegula

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What happened in Madrid?

After Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula were unexpectedly overwhelmed at the Madrid Open, something even more unexpected happened. It has become customary for both winning and losing finalists to make their respective speeches. However, as Gauff and Pegula were expecting the microphone to be handed to them, the organizers refused to let the duo speak.

via Reuters

As a result, there was a huge backlash from the entire tennis fraternity worldwide. The Italian Open organizers have also come under fire from Novak Djokovic for failing to ensure proper court conditions. Tennis fans can only hope that the organizers allow all the finalists some time to speak their minds.

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Watch This Story: Hours After Coco Gauff Criticized Madrid Open Organizers Serena Williams’ Former Coach Lashes Out at Them for Blatant Negligence

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Written by:

Sudipto Pati

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Sudipto is a Tennis writer at EssentiallySports. He completed his graduation in Journalism and Mass Communication in 2012. His passion for writing became a full-time profession in 2019 after working as a musician and travelling educator.
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Edited by:

Tony Thomas