Former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova has hit out at the WTA Tour for live streaming top players’ practice sessions this week.

World No 5 Jessica Pegula is making headlines for the wrong reasons after she was caught on a hot mic calling French Open champion Mirra Andreeva a “diva” at Indian Wells in the lead-up to the WTA Finals.

YouTube streams of practice sessions at the season-ending event have since been removed by the WTA, but that has not stopped eagle-eyed fans from sharing the clips on social media.

In a separate exchange, defending champion and world No 1 Elena Rybakina appeared to tell coach Stefano Vukov off in her practice session with Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova.

Now, Vondrousova, who is serving a four-year ban for refusing an anti-doping test, has weighed in on the matter, suggesting this should not have been made public.

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She wrote in an Instagram story, “@WTA, there’s a difference between giving fans access to the sport and giving them access to private conversations.” And in a follow-up Instagram story, where Rybakina‘s hot mic moment was referenced, she added, “Stop this.”

Pegula, Andreeva, Rybakina, and the WTA Tour are yet to comment on this unfolding situation.

The tournament gets underway on Sunday, with US Open and Australian Open champion Rybakina in Group 1 with Coco Gauff, Pegula, and Noskova.

In Group 2, last year’s beaten finalist Aryna Sabalenka will battle it out with Andreeva, Elina Svitolina, and Karolina Muchova in the event that runs from 8-15 November.

What did Jessica Pegula say?

While some of the audio from Pegula’s practice session is inaudible, the American was caught not being too complimentary about Andreeva and her coach, Conchita Martinez. Below is some of the conversation with her coach, Mark Knowles.

Knowles: “She treats Conchita so bad.”

Pegula: “Conchita’s always been very nice to me, but I’ve lost a little respect for her because I’m like, this girl – I think she’s a nice girl – she’s just a diva. She needs to be humbled. She needs to be [inaudible], putting her in her place; [inaudible] stand up to her. Conchita pokes her and eggs on her behaviour.”

It wasn’t all bad, however, as Pegula did praise Andreeva’s athleticism and talent.

Knowles: “She needs somebody to put her in her place. Once she gets that, I think she’ll be really good. I mean, she’s already really good. Look how she moves.”

Pegula: “She moves like a cat. She’s wonderful. She’s got the perfect serve. She’s smart. She anticipates well.”

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