Next Gen ATP finals: Backlash at 'sexist' draw where tennis player was asked to pull off model's glove with his teeth

Models were also asked to reveal grouping letters from beneath their clothes
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Ella Wills6 November 2017

The Next Gen ATP finals draw sparked a sexism row after models revealed grouping letters from beneath their clothes and a tennis player removed one of their gloves with his teeth.

At the draw in Milan on Sunday, tennis players took it in turns to select female models who would then reveal their groupings by pulling out letters from under their clothing.

The ceremony sparked outrage among the tennis community with many branding the event "sexist" and "uncomfortable" to watch.

The event's organisers have apologised for the “offence caused”, saying the ceremony intended to celebrate “Milan’s rich heritage as one of the fashion capitals of the world."

Row: the draw has been called 'uncomfortable'
Getty Images

They admitted "our execution of the proceedings was in poor taste and unacceptable".

Apology: organisers have said sorry for the draw
Getty Images

The Next Gen tennis competition takes place for the first time this year, and is an eight-man series between the world’s top seven 21-and-under singles players, and one Italian wild-card.

The players are set to battle it out in two round-robin groups of four, a semi-finals and final to determine the world’s best young male tennis player.

The models revealed numbers from beneath their clothing
Getty Images

To establish who each of the players would be going up against, the players picked models from a line-up, each of whom had the letter ‘A’ or ‘B’ concealed beneath their clothing. The letter corresponded to their round-robin group.

One woman revealed the letter ‘A’ marked on her thigh by lifting up her dress, while another had the letter ‘B’ on her back hidden beneath a jacket.

South Korean tennis player Hyeon Chung was asked to pull a model's glove off with his teeth.

The ceremony was branded "sexist" by many in the tennis community, while fans took to Twitter to voice their upset at the “uncomfortable” event.

Sport journalist Ben Rothenberg tweeted: "The ATP NextGen Milan draw ceremony made players select models to determine their groups. Stunningly uncomfortable, cringeworthy and trashy."

Former Wimbledon champion Amelie Mauresmo called the draw a "disgrace", and Judy Murray tweeted that it was "awful".

French player Alize Cornet wrote: "Good job @ATPWorldTour 👏👏👏 Supposed to be a futurist event right? #backtozero

The event is run by the ATP in partnership with the Italian Tennis Federation and the country’s National Olympic Committee. Meanwhile, the draw party was sponsored by Red Bull.

In a joint statement, ATP and Red Bull said: “ATP and Red Bull apologise for the offence caused by the draw ceremony for the Next Gen ATP Finals. The intention was to integrate Milan’s rich heritage as one of the fashion capitals of the world.

“However, our execution of the proceedings was in poor taste and unacceptable. We deeply regret this and will ensure that there is no repeat of anything like it in the future.”

The Finals begin on Tuesday with the final taking place on November 11.

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