Opinion Coco Gauff is right. Sports may be commercial, but players deserve their privacy

It’s not for nothing that Coco Gauff’s demand for greater privacy at the ongoing Australian Open has been echoed by fellow champions. World No 2 Iga Swiatek likened the elite tennis players assembled for one of the biggest tournaments on the calendar to “animals in a zoo”. Novak Djokovic said he was surprised there were no cameras in the shower. It’s time for tennis authorities to start listening to the woes of players.

The row began after an expected post-loss reaction. Third seed Gauff had been thoroughly outplayed in her quarterfinal when she decided to release a bit of emotion. Aware of the swarm of attention on her, she found what she thought was a quiet corner to smash her racquet in frustration, but was still captured by the plethora of cameras around the players’ area and locker room. Within 30 minutes of her loss, videos were playing all over the world. Expectations of poise and grace in every awkward situation from athletes are unrealistic anyway. The 21-year-old American was livid at the breach of privacy. It’s easy to see why.

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The prying eye is a product of the excessive commercialisation of professional tennis — and monetising the feelings of players. At times, this has benefited top players like Gauff. But Grand Slam tournaments can often be brutal, and the players deserve empathy. The right moves can change lives, and even a seemingly minor act can derail months of progress. The rules around displays of emotion and frustration on court are already too strict. To transfer the judgemental eyeballs to the locker room, where a loss can make a player helpless, is a definite overreach. Corrective measures need to be in place.