Blasted for sexism, ATP is sorry for draw controversy
The Next Gen ATP finals delivered all the promised drama even before a ball was hit with organisers issuing grovelling apologises after a draw ceremony blasted as “sexist”.
The inaugural under-21 version of the ATP World Tour Finals starts Tuesday in Milan, bringing together emerging stars tipped to rival Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.
But a social media storm was whipped up after Sunday’s draw when the players had to choose female models who had the letter ‘A’ or ‘B’ hidden on their bodies, to determine the round-robin group in which they would play.
South Korean player Hyeon Chung looked visibly embarrassed as he was asked to pull off a female model’s glove with his teeth during an evening designed as a tribute to Milan’s famous
MILAN:
links with the fashion industry.
ATP executive president Chris Kermode apologised describing the ceremony as “unacceptable, personally disrespectful and (that it) won’t happen again”.
“It’s unfair and unreasonable we put these guys out there. It wasn’t their choice, it’s in no way to do with any of the players.”
“Disgrace”, wrote former women’s No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo on her Twitter account, while fellow French player Alize Cornet wrote: “Good job @ATPWorldTour Supposed to be a futurist event right? #backtozero”, as Judy Murray, mother of former men’s number one Andy Murray, tweeted “awful”.