BBC criticised as ice queen gets fiery

Tennis officials have lodged a complaint with the BBC over its showing of an interview in which Anna Kournikova had a tantrum.

The Russian beauty stood up during the interview with presenter Garry Richardson and demanded the interview be started again because she did not like the questioning.

The interview was done shortly after she had been knocked out of the Championships in the first round.

Kournikova almost immediately sat down again and the interview resumed but the BBC showed it in full and repeated it several times during the evening.

A spokesman for the Womens’ Tennis Association (WTA) said last night that the broadcast of the footage was inappropriate and confirmed it had complained to the BBC.

Vice-president of communication for the WTA Chris de Maria said: "We thought it was inappropriate for them to show the footage. Anna was upset and she has spoken to our people.

"We feel it was inappropriate because she had got up to end the interview and started again but they showed the whole thing. She expected them to start over and not show the behind the scenes footage. It was not necessary."

Mr de Maria said they had had discussions with the BBC because the interview had not gone out live but appeared to have been broadcast as if it was live.

Kournikova was criticised immediately after the interview by BBC pundits and former tennis stars John Lloyd and Pam Shriver, who described her actions as horrible and unacceptable.

She initially got upset when Richardson asked if her confidence was low and then lost her patience when he asked about comments made by former star Chris Evert that the Russian player should drop down a level to rediscover her drop in form.

But the BBC said it saw nothing wrong in showing the full interview.

A spokesman said: "We met with the WTA and there was a frank exchange of views.

"We understand each other’s concerns but the questions asked in the interview were not unreasonable.

"The BBC prides itself on its editorial independence."

A spokesman for Kournikova’s agents, Octagon, said: "Players, win or lose, are at their most vulnerable when they walk off court and it’s appropriate for the media to be sensitive to that."