Andy Roddick Slams WTA Over Jessica Pegula Hot Mic Controversy
“Putting mics on people and not telling them is ridiculous,” Andy Roddick said on his Served podcast, taking aim at the WTA over a recording that captured Jessica Pegula criticizing Mirra Andreeva.
Pegula was filmed and recorded without her knowledge after a training session with Andreeva, and the WTA later apologized to the players for failing to tell them microphones were present, We Love Tennis reported.
The episode has drawn sharp criticism from Roddick, the last American man to win a Grand Slam singles title, who said the WTA’s handling of the situation undermines its own appeals for trust from players, tennishead.net reported.
Roddick slams WTA over hidden mics
“Imagine if you went into a board meeting for the WTA and don’t tell them and stream it,” Roddick said on the Served podcast, tennishead.net reported. “When you are in this thing and you are going ‘trust us, trust us’, especially when you are throwing a person under the bus who is literally spending hours and hours of her life at the negotiating tables and you hot mic her?”
He rejected the idea that unguarded remarks should carry no weight. “Everyone is going to say, well she said it, it shouldn’t matter. But that’s bulls—-,” he said.
Roddick drew on his own playing days to make the point. “Like if I was practicing with Mardy [Fish] and things are going the wrong way, I will say ‘f—- this little b—-‘”, he said. “You say stuff on court and you don’t mean it. I could practice with Federer and say ‘what a p—-‘.”
“You can’t hot mic people. You have to tell people. There are so many issues with this,” Roddick said. “It’s a terrible look. If I’m Jess Pegula and that happens to me, I am flipping chairs somewhere.”
He added that friction between a player and coach is routine on tour. “She got in a fight with her coach? Well, welcome to every other day on Tour. It’s intense, you are supposed to disagree,” We Love Tennis reported him as saying.
WTA chair apologizes, removes equipment
According to tennishead.net, courtside microphones at a pre-tournament practice session in Indian Wells picked up Pegula calling Andreeva a “diva” and saying she had lost some respect for the Russian’s coach, Conchita Martinez, during a session with coach Mark Knowles. Pegula swiftly sought out Andreeva and her team to apologize for the remarks.
WTA chair Valerie Camillo, who took office in October 2025, apologized for the WTA’s role. “I want to specifically apologise to Jessica Pegula and [coach] Mark Knowles,” she said, according to tennishead.net. “What happened was regrettable and unacceptable. Jess is one of the WTA’s best advocates and biggest stars. She does not deserve this distraction.”
Camillo cited “a lack of advanced notice and clear signage” and “a failure in our technical execution and monitoring,” and confirmed that audio recording equipment in the Indian Wells practice areas has been removed, tennishead.net reported.
Former coach Brad Gilbert also criticized the organization, labeling the failure “extremely disappointing,” tennishead.net reported.
The controversy lands while Pegula chairs the WTA’s Tour Architecture Council, which is tasked with recommending improvements to the Tour framework for the 2027 season. At the WTA Finals, Coco Gauff defeated Pegula 6-4, 6-7, 6-2, while Andreeva beat Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-0, tennishead.net reported.
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