Are tennis players being treated like zoo animals? Iga Swiatek thinks so

Iga Swiatek of Poland walks from the court following her quarterfinal loss to Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

MELBOURNE, Australia — Iga Swiatek picked up a theme that Coco Gauff left the Australian Open with after the 21-year-old American’s racket-smashing, frustration-releasing moments away from the court went viral.

Gauff said “maybe conversations can be had” about the seemingly limitless access-all-areas cameras that track players from the locker room to the court and just about everywhere in between.

After her 7-5, 6-1 quarterfinal loss to fifth-seeded Elena Rybakina on Wednesday, Swiatek was asked how she feels about the lack of off-camera areas for the players and what she thinks should be the balance between constant content and player privacy.

“Yeah, the question is, are we tennis players, or are we, like, animals in the zoo where they are observed even when they poop, you know?” she said, apologizing for the latter reference. “OK, that was exaggerating obviously, but it would be nice to have some privacy.”

Swiatek and Gauff are two of the top three players in women’s tennis, so it stands to reason they’ll be more in focus.

Visions of Swiatek being stopped by security after forgetting her credential became a meme during the tournament. She’s won four French Open titles as well as Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. But security is, well, security.

Fan engagement

The off-court camera surveillance occurs at other tournaments and isn’t confined to the Australian Open, where organizers have created a three-week festival around the season-opening major by incorporating all manner of fan engagement.

The vision from the nonpublic stadium areas isn’t always broadcast, but players don’t need reminding that some moments that get captured will turn up on the internet for being cute, informative or just outright dramatic.

No. 2-ranked Swiatek said there were parts of her game she’d like to practice immediately before walking out for a match and “it would be nice to have some space where you can do that without the whole world watching.”

The 24-year-old is one of Poland’s biggest stars and is fully aware that being in the public gaze is part-and-parcel of being a champion.

“We’re tennis players. We’re meant to be watched on the court, you know, and in the press. That’s our job,” she said.

Gauff’s racket

No. 3-ranked Gauff, a two-time major winner, smashed her racket into the concrete floor of a ramp near the player area seven times after her Australian Open quarterfinal loss to Elina Svitolina on Day 10.

She stayed composed as she left the center court before trying to find somewhere in the shadows to vent.

Turned out, there’s pretty much no place within the confines of Rod Laver Arena except for the locker rooms that is beyond the scope of the cameras.

“Certain moments — the same thing happened to Aryna (Sabalenka) after I played her in the final of the U.S. Open — I feel like they don’t need to broadcast,” Gauff said in her post-match news conference. “I tried to go somewhere where I thought there wasn’t a camera because I don’t necessarily like breaking rackets.”

Serena’s advice

Gauff received some encouragement from 23-time major winner Serena Williams, who posted on social media that there’s “nothing wrong with hating to lose,” and offering to show her how to demolish in one swipe — Serena style. "

Gauff said she didn’t want to smash her racket on the court within sight of fans, which is why she saved it for a quieter area.

“So, yeah, maybe some conversations can be had,” she said, “because I feel like at this tournament the only private place we have is the locker room.”

And that’s exactly where fourth-seeded Amanda Anisimova proceeded after her quarterfinal loss to fellow American Jessica Pegula.

“There are good moments, obviously that people see, and that’s fun. Then, when you lose, there are probably not-so-good moments,” she said. “The fact that the video of Coco that was posted, it’s tough, because she didn’t have a say in that.”

WTA backs players

WTA chair Valerie Camillo said “the WTA stands with our players and takes their concerns about privacy and cameras at the Australian Open seriously . . . players deserve spaces away from competition where they can recover in private.”

She said that at WTA events, “we have already taken steps to reduce camera presence in off-court player areas to ensure players have appropriate private spaces.”

“We moved to this standard because we agree that there should be clear, respectful boundaries in off-court areas,” she added. “We believe this issue should be reviewed by tournament organizers and broadcast partners to ensure appropriate boundaries are in place.”

Djokovic: Can’t see it changing

Novak Djokovic, the 24-time major winner, remembers the time before the omnipresent cameras, and preferred it. But he thinks there’ll be no winding it back.

“I saw what happened with Coco after her match. I empathize with her,” Djokovic said. “I agree with her. You know, it’s really sad that you can’t basically move away anywhere and hide and . . . fume out your frustration in a way that won’t be captured by a camera.

“But we live in a society and in times where content is everything, so it’s a deeper discussion. It’s really hard for me to see that that’s going (to go) backward. It’s just something that I guess we have to accept.”

Djokovic made a crack about the sanctity of the locker room, which is still off-limits to TV.

“I’m surprised that we have no cameras while we are taking a shower!,” he said. “I mean, that’s probably the next step.”

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More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

John Pye, The Associated Press