Eugenie Bouchard and Serena Williams have been asked for their reaction to on-court interviews which invited the two to twirl and show the crowd their dresses, drawing accusations of sexism.
The two did not express enthusiasm for the incidents. Bouchard was asked by Australian commentator Ian Cohen to "give us a twirl" following her second-round match. "It was very unexpected. I mean, yeah, I don’t know. An old guy asking you to twirl, it was funny," Bouchard said.
Williams had also been asked to give spectators a better look at her dress following her first-round match, and gave a twirl, then said she wasn't used to being a model.
She was initially reluctant to be drawn to the issue. "A commentator asked me to twirl," she said. "I wouldn’t ask Rafa or Roger to twirl. Whether it’s sexist or not, I don’t know. I can’t answer that."
The world No. 1 then said, "I didn’t really want to twirl because I was just like, you know, I don’t need all the extra attention. But, yeah, it was fine.
"I don’t think and look that deep into it," she added. "We have so many other problems we want to deal with that we should focus on."
Local broadcaster Channel Seven said the commentator was conducting the Bouchard interview for Tennis Australia. Tournament organizers have not issued a statement.