Carlos Alcaraz responds after Coco Gauff plea and says ‘it is too much | Tennis | Sport
The tunnel camera, which was widely used at the US Open and the Australian Open, is able to watch players walk out to the court from their changing room as well as strut back after defeat or victory. After her despair was captured by the backstage cameras, Gauff admitted she feels players are getting less and less privacy, stating the locker room is the only place tennis stars can be away from the cameras. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka was also captured in a similar moment, when she was seen smashing her racked backstage after her loss to Gauff in the final. When asked for his thoughts on the invasive cameras, Alcaraz supported Gauff and said he is not comfortable with them.
Speaking to Punto De Break, he said: “For the fans, it’s great. They love to see what happens behind the scenes, what we do, how the facilities are inside the tournaments.
“But for the players, it’s a bit strange because we no longer have a place to relax, as we are constantly thinking that there are cameras and everyone is watching us.
“Having cameras so close, being able to see what we are seeing on our phones, seems excessive to me. Already, we don’t have much privacy in tournaments. I think this is too much. We should have spaces where we can be alone without being filmed.”
When Gauff was asked about her reaction being caught on camera, she pleased on broadcasters to give players some space away from the glare of the media eye. She said: “I tried to go somewhere where there was no cameras. I kind of have a thing with the broadcast.
“I feel like certain moments – the same thing happened to Aryna [Sabalenka] after I played her in final of US Open – I feel like they don’t need to broadcast. Maybe some conversations can be had, because I feel like at this tournament the only private place we have is the locker room.
“I don’t want to lash out on my team. They’re good people. They don’t deserve that, and I know I’m emotional. I don’t try to do it on court in front of kids and things like that, but I do know I need to let out that emotion.
“Otherwise, I’m just going to be snappy with the people around me, and I don’t want to do that. They did their best. I did mine.”
