Pegula calls Andreeva a ‘diva’ on open microphone at WTA event

Jessica Pegula called Mirra Andreeva a “diva” in a conversation with her coach that was picked up by microphones during a practice session in Indian Wells. The two players, ranked third and fifth in the world, are preparing for the 2026 WTA Finals, which start this Sunday.

Pegula has since broken her silence, as has Andreeva, who also reacted to the comment.

What Pegula said

During a live WTA broadcast, Pegula spoke to her coach, Mark Knowles, and expressed her disappointment with Andreeva. “I’ve lost a bit of respect for her because I’m thinking, this girl – I think she’s a nice girl – she’s just a diva. She needs to be humbled,” Pegula said.

The American added that “she’s a nice girl, but she needs to mature. I don’t know if it’s because she doesn’t know how to handle it.” Pegula also said that, if she were Andreeva’s coach, she would have advised the player not to speak to him that way after a good performance.

WTA apologises over microphones

Pegula was unaware that the microphones in Indian Wells were recording the conversation. The WTA apologised for not telling players that the microphones were active during practice sessions.

“The WTA takes full responsibility for not informing our players and their teams that the microphones, placed to provide a live broadcast of the practices, were active on the courts during the WTA Finals,” the organisation said. “We sincerely apologise for failing in our responsibility to ensure that players and coaches were properly informed.”

In an interview with ESPN, Pegula confirmed that she did not know the conversation with Knowles was being recorded and broadcast. “Obviously, I had no idea and I wasn’t told that the audio was being recorded. But it is what it is,” said the American, who described the situation as “unfortunate.”

Andreeva responds with humour

For her part, Andreeva shared photographs from the WTA Finals photo shoot and captioned a picture of herself with the American with the word “DIVAS”, in reference to Pegula’s comment. Pegula replied with humour: “*Divas in Chanel*”.

This good-humoured exchange suggests there is no animosity between the two players, despite the controversy.