Former German tennis player Andrea Petkovic recently expressed her discontentment at the WTA’s failure to market female players. This comes after the tennis body edited her on-court interview with Xinyu Wang during the 2025 Berlin Tennis Open. Petkovic was assigned the post of Director of Excitement during the tournament.
Amidst her duties, Petkovic conducted the on-court interview of Wang after the latter’s semifinal win against Liudmila Samsonova in straight sets. According to Petkovic, her interview with Wang consisted of much more than just tennis, which the WTA intended.
In her recent letter shared via Finite Jest, the former German player called out the WTA for editing out part of the interview where Wang showcased her flamboyant and jolly personality. Andrea Petkovic also said that the sport’s uniqueness is due to the players’ individuality, which the WTA has not utilized. She said:
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"The WTA, however, posted an edited clip of her answers on their social media that made her sound like EVERY. OTHER. TENNIS. PLAYER. OUT. THERE. The one thing she said about not expecting to be in the final is what they decided to post while all the personality and humour got edited out. These are things that drive me insane as the players’ distinct personality makes the individual sport of tennis so special. Showcasing (!!) that personality for everyone to see, though, should be the logical first step. Not editing it out."
In her letter, Petkovic also highlighted that the uniqueness of the sport can be achieved through showcasing the personalities of the players and not undermining them.
Andrea Petkovic recalls the hatred she received during her playing years
Andrea Petkovic also recently shed light on the hateful comments she received during her active years in tennis. The former World No.9 bid goodbye to the sport three years ago in 2022.
In an interview during her stint as Director of Excitement at the 2025 Berlin Open, Petkovic shared that several of the messages she received during her playing years were either death threats or abusive and foul insults. She said (via Footboom):
"Maybe five percent of the messages I got were real threats. The majority were insults, abusive language, and curses. Someone even wrote to me, 'I hope you die."
Before she retired from the sport, Andrea Petkovic clinched 7 singles titles. Her best Grand Slam outing was a semifinal appearance at the 2014 Roland Garros, where she lost to Simona Halep. Petkovic's other achievements include reaching the finals of the 2014 Fed Cup with Germany, where her team lost to the Czech Republic.
