Coco Gauff said she did not receive an apology or response from the Australian Open after she was broadcast letting off steam by breaking a racket in a private area after her quarter-final loss earlier this year.
“I mean, I didn’t get anything from my email that I know of,” Gauff said, smiling. “I know that WTA sent something, but obviously they’re different from the grand slams, just them wanting to reiterate and that they are going to talk to the slams about different private areas and things like that.”
Gauff was speaking after beginning her title defence at the French Open as the fourth seed with an assured 6-4, 6-0 first-round win over her compatriot Taylor Townsend, her first grand slam match since her loss in Melbourne.
Footage of Gauff smashing her racket in an underground corridor at the Australian Open was broadcast worldwide, leading to numerous players speaking out about the lack of privacy they felt in Melbourne. This issue was topical again in the build-up to the French Open, with the tournament director, Amélie Mauresmo, saying the event would not add any additional cameras to private player areas even though broadcasters have pushed for greater video access. There will continue to be camera-free areas for players to relax away from the glare of the public eye.
“I feel like the French Open does a really good job with the cameras,” said Gauff. “Me personally, I haven’t had any experiences where they broadcasted something, an emotional moment or anything like that. I pray before my matches, and we usually do it in the gym, and they have never broadcasted that. I’m sure I have been crying in that gym before and they’ve never broadcasted that. I haven’t broken a racket here, so maybe if I do that, they’ll show it. But, no, I think Roland Garros, from my personal experience, has done a decent job with that.”
There has been a general uptick in cameras dotted around tournament facilities on the tour in recent years. For example, it is not unusual for the cameras in tunnels directly leading to and from Court Philippe-Chatrier to capture players’ tears while leaving the court. However, the Australian Open has by far the highest number of cameras in private areas, including in player, media and transportation areas. “I think also the issue was with specifically Australia is almost all the private areas outside the locker room are recorded, so you don’t really have anywhere to go,” said Gauff. “Some of the cameras do look like security cameras. They don’t necessarily look like broadcast cameras.”
Another controversial incident at the Australian Open involved the eventual men’s champion, Carlos Alcaraz, who was scrolling his phone while standing alone in the player transportation area. Alcaraz did not realise that there was a camera directly behind him, pointing downwards with a direct view on his screen. The footage was broadcast live on the Australian Open’s YouTube channel and then it spread virally on social media. Viewers could see exactly what Alcaraz was viewing on his phone and even which pictures he zoomed in on.
Alcaraz, who is absent from Paris this year due to injury, rolled his eyes sarcastically as he confirmed that he was aware of this incident: “For us, the players, it’s weird because we don’t have that space that we can be chilling, let’s say,” he said. “We’re thinking all the time that there are cameras and everyone is watching us. So sometimes it’s tricky and I think there should be a line. Having a camera like really, really down so that they can see what we are looking at the phone, I think that’s too much. I can be talking with someone, I can be looking at something and the people are gonna watch it.”
Wimbledon, meanwhile, will also be maintaining many private areas for players and their teams, with camera locations communicated to players before the tournament. The cameras will not be livestreamed and all video is reviewed by an in-house team before being published.
Elsewhere, Naomi Osaka moved into the second round with a 6-3, 7-6 (3) win over Laura Siegemund, but her solid performance was overshadowed by her latest outfit reveal. Osaka entered the court wearing an all-black corset and floor-length skirt before revealing a shiny gold dress embroidered with sequins: “Sometimes people say athletes are in show business or entertainers or whatever. I feel like for me, grand slam walk-ons are the only time that I possibly feel like I’m an entertainer,” said Osaka.
