{"id":621331,"date":"2026-04-21T12:13:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T12:13:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/621331\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T12:13:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T12:13:08","slug":"grand-slams-respond-to-tennis-stars-privacy-concerns-after-australian-open-complaints","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/621331\/","title":{"rendered":"Grand Slams respond to tennis stars\u2019 privacy concerns after Australian Open complaints"},"content":{"rendered":"

The three remaining Grand Slams<\/a> in 2026 are putting measures in place to placate tennis stars\u2019 privacy concerns<\/a>\u00a0following a series of complaints at January\u2019s Australian Open.<\/p>\n

The French Open tournament director, Am\u00e9lie Mauresmo, stressed her commitment to \u201cmaintain(ing) the respect for their privacy\u201d in a news conference Thursday, and spokespeople for Wimbledon and the U.S. Open have detailed similar plans for the coming summer.<\/p>\n

In a virtual news conference Thursday, Mauresmo said that the French Open will not add more cameras in behind-the-scenes areas, despite broadcasters seeking more access to players.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Wimbledon said via email that the tournament will review all footage captured before transmitting it, as well as communicating which areas will be under media surveillance ahead of time to avoid players being caught out in areas that they believe to be safe havens.<\/p>\n

This is what led Coco Gauff to take umbrage with the Australian Open in January, after she was caught on camera smashing a racket seven times in an area she believed to be free of them, following her quarterfinal loss to Elina Svitolina.<\/p>\n

During a news conference, Gauff said: \u201cMaybe some conversations can be had, because I feel like at this tournament the only private place we have is the locker room.<\/p>\n

\u201cI kind of have a thing with the broadcast. I feel like certain moments don\u2019t need to broadcast.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a news conference a day later, Iga \u015awi\u0105tek<\/a> asked \u201care we tennis players, or are we animals in the zoo?\u201d In another, Novak Djokovic said that he \u201cwas surprised that we have no cameras while we are taking a shower.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leading American players Jessica Pegula and Amanda Anisimova also made critical comments. A Tennis Australia spokesperson said that \u201cstriking the right balance between showcasing the personalities and skills of the players, while ensuring their comfort and privacy, is a priority for the AO.\u201d<\/p>\n

A spokesperson was not immediately available for comment on whether there will be privacy changes for the 2027 edition.<\/p>\n

Gauff also compared her situation in Melbourne to that of Aryna Sabalenka at the 2023 U.S. Open. After Gauff beat Sabalenka in that year\u2019s final, Sabalenka smashed a racket four times in a backstage area before putting it in a bin. She too did not expect there to be footage of the incident.<\/p>\n

A United States Tennis Association (USTA) spokesperson Brendan McIntyre said Sunday via email that the 2026 tournament \u201cwill have areas that are designated as no camera access, to ensure players have private spaces.\u201d These could include player dining and lounge areas.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only time we would change access would be with prior permission and coordination \u2014 an example here would be the potential for a camera in the locker room for a player celebration following a championship match,\u201d McIntyre said, adding that all areas with cameras will be clearly signposted and that television rights-holders will not have direct access to camera feeds.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not necessarily a change in policy, but certainly we are being more explicit in the communication and coordination \u2014 we want to ensure that players have full understanding,\u201d McIntyre said.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike all areas of the event, we look at how we can change, adapt and improve, following and in advance of each year\u2019s US Open. This includes listening to player feedback.\u201c<\/p>\n

After the complaints at the Australian Open, WTA chair Valerie Camillo said in a statement: \u201cRecent concerns raised by WTA players at the Australian Open about cameras in off-court player areas are completely valid.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a very human and fair request \u2014 athletes need spaces where they can recover and not feel constantly under scrutiny. Providing that space is part of our responsibility as a sport. The WTA is committed to listening to its players and acting on concerns like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Players\u2019 concerns over privacy also dovetail with a greater desire to capture their own footage for use in other media endeavors, including social media and YouTube channels. Grand Slam media rights deals remain so restrictive that players are not able to broadcast footage from their own matches, but an Australian Open spokesperson said in January that\u00a0there had been a record number of requests from players to bring their own crews, with an uplift in filming in restricted areas, including the locker rooms and treatment and medical areas.<\/p>\n

When the French Open starts on May 24, this tricky balancing act will continue: respecting privacy in an age when the mantra for many players and events seems to be that \u201ccontent is king,\u201d while at the same time satisfying the broadcasters whose media rights deals underpin significant chunks of their revenues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The three remaining Grand Slams in 2026 are putting measures in place to placate tennis stars\u2019 privacy concerns\u00a0following…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":621332,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[565],"tags":[64,63,2331,85,3276,747],"class_list":{"0":"post-621331","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tennis","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-culture","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-sports-business","13":"tag-tennis"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/621331","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=621331"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/621331\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/621332"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=621331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=621331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=621331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}