The night before, Coco Gauff was filmed smashing her racquet seven times in what she thought was a private area after her 6-1, 6-2 quarterfinal loss to Elina Svitolina on Rod Laver Arena. In a later press conference, Gauff said that “maybe some conversations can be had, because I feel like in this tournament the only private place we have is the locker room.” He added that: “I have a thing about broadcasting. I feel like certain moments don’t need to be broadcast.”
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With cameras in the parking lot, gym and hallways, there are very few areas for players to retreat to, far fewer than at Wimbledon and the French Open. Świątek herself had been filmed not being allowed into a players’ area because she did not have her accreditation, as happened to Roger Federer here seven years ago. On Wednesday, Świątek was filmed lying down with her eyes closed before facing Elena Rybakina in the Australian Open quarter-finals.
When asked about the backstage cameras following the 7-5, 6-1 loss to Rybakina, Świątek backed Gauff’s position. “The question is: are we tennis players or are we animals in the zoo where we are watched even when they poop?” he asked at a news conference.“Okay, obviously that was overreacting, but it would be nice to have some privacy. It would also be nice to, I don’t know, have your own process and not always be watched. It would be nice to have some space where you can do it without everyone watching.”
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Świątek pointed to the private areas at Wimbledon and Roland Garros as proof that a balance can be achieved.
“At Wimbledon there are courts like Aorangi, where people with accreditation can come, but without fans. At Roland Garros there is Jean-Bouin. There are some spaces where you can at least go when you need to, but there are some tournaments where it is impossible and you are constantly watched, if not by fans who can just buy some passes and go to your practice, then by cameras.
“We’re tennis players. We’re meant to be watched on the court and in the press. That’s our job. It’s not our job to be a meme when you forget your accreditation. Oh, it’s funny, yeah, sure. People have something to talk about, but for us I don’t think it’s necessary.”
When asked if he would talk to the tournament about it, Świątek replied: “What’s the point?”
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The tournament did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Świątek’s resignation over the idea of the Australian Open changing things reflects the tournament’s well-known commitment to innovation and experimentation. This is usually a positive: the one-point slam from a couple of weeks ago was a big success, as was last year’s AO Animated, but other changes have been more divisive. The coaching boxes right behind the players who joined in 2025 have not been to everyone’s taste.
World No. 6 Jessica Pegula said last August that the decision to move the Australian Open to a Sunday start in 2024 had been made despite many players not being in favor of it. An Australian Open representative said players and tours were consulted and all proceeds from ticket sales on the first Sunday went to the players.
The issue of lack of privacy at Melbourne Park has been rumbling for a decade, ever since the tournament installed additional cameras for the 2016 event. Things came to a head a few years later, when Petra Martić was in tears after losing to Sloane Stephens in a close third-round match. Like Gauff, she didn’t realize she was being filmed and broadcast to the world. “We live in a Big Brother society,” Novak Djokovic said at a press conference a few days later. “I guess you just have to accept it.”
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The US Open similarly captures players’ areas, and on Tuesday Gauff referenced her discomfort in front of cameras showing Aryna Sabalenka breaking a racket after losing to her in the 2023 final.
The players, many of whom broadcast intimate moments of themselves on their own social media channels, keep an eye on the cameras, but in the moments of extreme emotion that tennis generates, it’s not an easy thing to keep in mind. No. 4 seed Amanda Anisimova noted that while there are plenty of funny images, incidents like Gauff’s are uncomfortable. “The video of Coco that was published is difficult because she had no say in it,” Anisimova said at a press conference after losing in the quarterfinals to Jessica Pegula.
Most of the images shown are pretty bland: players bumping into each other, stretching, or talking to their teams. And like Anisimova said, there are sweet moments captured, like Madison Keys and her good friend Pegula laughing on stationary bikes right after playing with each other at Rod Laver Arena.
But a debate over whether a privacy line has been crossed has felt inevitable in a tournament where content is king.
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This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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