Coco Gauff has now received an official response from the Australian Open tournament director following her comments.
Gauff called for players to have more privacy at the Australian Open, after she was caught on camera smashing her racket following her quarterfinal defeat to Elina Svitolina.
This has created a huge conversation, with even Novak Djokovic reacting to Gauff’s comments at the Australian Open.
Amanda Anisimova also responded to Gauff’s comments, as well as six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek.
Following the reaction to this incident, the WTA have released an official statement in response to Gauff’s comments and now Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley has had his say.
Craig Tiley gives his reaction to Coco Gauff’s comments at the Australian Open
Tiley has been the Australian Open tournament director since 2006, and there have been some rumors that this could be the final year of his tenure at the tournament.
Despite suggestions that he may be leaving the event, Tiley still had some big questions to answer when speaking to Tennis Channel.
In this interview, Tiley was asked about the calls for more player privacy at the Australian Open, which he appeared to empathize with, while also pointing out that there were numerous areas at the tournament where there are no cameras.
“The first thing that we do, we want to listen to the players, we want to really understand what their needs are and what they want, so that’s the first question we will ask,” said Tiley. “We’ve heard you and we’ll go with whatever adjustments we need to make we will make.
“It’s a fine line between the player promotion and the event promotion and where the cameras are. Now, we do have many areas behind the scenes like for example we have a coaches room where players and coaches can interact, has no cameras. There’s the locker room, the training rooms, the recovery rooms, the beauty room, the sleep room, there’s many places we have on site that are player only, no cameras. In the general corridors going in and out of the areas walking on the court of course there are cameras, but we’ll continue to review it and make sure the players are comfortable with it.
“But at the same time, we also want to bring the fan and the player closer as you do, because we believe that as tennis players we can really help lift up their value and the love that the fans have for them. But it’s a fine line that we got to keep walking.”
Do players need to be given more privacy at the Australian Open?
Craig Tiley suggests he actually disagrees with a rule the Australian Open has
Gauff’s comments about player privacy have not been the only controversy at the Australian Open this year, with the heat being a big talking point.
This was highlighted during Jannik Sinner’s third round match, which saw the world number two come from a set and a break down against Eliot Spizzirri after struggling with cramp.
The Australian Open was heavily criticised for their heat rule which enabled Sinner to take a break in the middle of a set, and now even Tiley has suggested he has some issue with it.
“I think that’s something again to take player feedback on, because we’ve asked that question and one player will say ‘No, no, no, I want to play outdoors. This is an outdoor event and then only when those conditions change should the roof be closed’ and they do when our heat index scale is five,” explained Tiley.
“Personally I’d like it to be closed sooner, but that’s player feedback. So, we need to get all the players to agree and if that’s what they want us to do absolutely we’ll be open to doing that.”
Were the Australian Open wrong to allow Jannik Sinner time off court when he was cramping?
The Australian Open is now in the latter stages of its 2026 tournament, with just four players remaining in both the men’s and women’s singles draws.
Whether Tiley will still be at the tournament to try and fix some of these player issues next year remains to be seen.
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