Victoria Azarenka and Beatriz Haddad Maia created a mic drop moment winning the Mutua Madrid Open doubles title.
The pair never got the microphone to thank their families and teams.
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Trashing a time-honored tradition of tournament champions and finalists speaking after finals, Madrid muted the women's doubles finalists though the men's doubles champions and finalists were permitted to speak.
In the aftermath of Azarenka and Haddad Maia defeating Americans Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula 6-1, 6-4, the four women were presented their trophies but not given the opportunity to speak.
Watch around the 11:20 mark of the video above to see the four women standing on the podium together waiting for the opportunity to speak while music plays over the sound system. The players pose for a trophy shot then leave the podium as music continues to play.
"What happened in Madrid, it was really disappointing," Pegula told the media in Rome today. "I know a lot of like what happened, detail leading up to the event, just because Vika and I are on players council. I had a feeling something was going to happen.
"Did I think we were not going to be able to speak, no. I've never heard of that, like, in my life. Even in a 10K challenger final you would speak. I don't know what century everyone was living in when they made that decision or how they actually had a conversation and decided, like, Wow, this is a great decision we're going to do and there's going to be no-backlash against this."
Former world No. 1 Azarenka pointed out Madrid's double standard on social media.
"Hard to explain to [son] Leo that mommy isn’t able to say hello to him at the trophy ceremony," Azarenka posted on Twitter.
Gauff took to Twitter to thank partner Pegula, their families and teams and the tournament staffers and ball kids essentially giving her runner-up speech on social media.
It was the latest in a series of gaffes that drew criticism of tournament organizers, who presented Madrid women's champion Aryna Sabalenka with a significantly smaller birthday cake than Madrid men's champion and Spanish hero Carlos Alcaraz, who celebrated his 20th birthday on May 5th.
Madrid tournament director Feliciano Lopez responded to the cake criticism pointing out Alcaraz, a national hero, is playing at home, was defending Madrid champion and had just reached his second straight Madrid final. Though Lopez's explanation left a bad taste in the mouths of some players.
In a rare dig at a tournament during the trophy presentation, world No. 1 Iga Swiatek referenced her repeated late-night starts in Madrid and disappointment with that arduous schedule.
"It's a very nice city, although it's not much fun to play until 1 a.m.," Swiatek said after bowing to Aryna Sabalenka in a fantastic three-set final. "But I'm happy to have overcome that experience and made it all the way to the final, so thank you for the support and energy, see you next year."
Photo credit: Mutua Madrid Open Facebook