Andrea Petkovic criticized WTA for editing out the personality and humor from player interviews, specifically calling out how they handled footage of Berlin Open runner-up Wang Xinyu. She served as Director of Excitement at the recent Berlin Tennis Open, and expressed frustration over WTA’s failure to showcase players’ unique characters, making them sound like others.
Andrea Petkovic Slams WTA’s Editorial Choices
In her recent blog post, Petkovic expressed her disappointment with how the WTA presented Wang Xinyu’s post-match interview after the Chinese player’s semifinal victory.
“I had the pleasure to interview Wang Xin Yu after her semifinal win. She was hilarious, witty, smart. She had better jokes up her sleeve than most of the comedians on Netflix right now,” Petkovic wrote.
The former tennis player explained that despite Wang’s entertaining responses, the WTA chose to post only the most generic content. “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,” she continued.
Andrea Petkovic calling out the WTA for being utterly brainless and uncreative in promoting their players.
LOUDER PETKO 👏🔥 pic.twitter.com/U25Q8G50PB— PhineMotorSkills (@rdmtennisfan) June 23, 2025
According to Petkovic, the WTA focused on Wang’s comment about not expecting to reach the final while completely removing all the personality and humor that made the interview special. She wrote, “Showcasing (!!) that personality for everyone to see, though, should be the logical first step. Not editing it out.”
Wang Xinyu’s Breakthrough Week in Berlin
Xinyu’s journey to the Berlin Open final was remarkable, as the 23-year-old Chinese player had to fight through qualifying rounds before making her first WTA tour-level final. The World No. 33 defeated four top 20 players during her impressive run, including a stunning upset of newly-crowned French Open champion and World No. 2 Coco Gauff.
During her semifinal victory over Liudmila Samsonova, Wang displayed the wit that Petkovic praised so highly. When asked about celebrating before the final, Wang delivered one of her memorable lines: “We always say celebrate before the final because if you lose then you don’t celebrate nothing”.
The interview also featured Wang joking about nearly retiring from her first qualifying match, saying her team “literally pushed me back to the court” when she was walking toward the net ready to quit.
Andrea Petkovic’s criticism highlights a broader issue in tennis as she wrote: “These are things that drive me insane as the players’ distinct personality makes the individual sport of tennis so special.” The former player argued that showcasing personality should be “the logical first step” rather than editing it out.
