(Reuters) - BNP Paribas Open chief executive and tournament director Raymond Moore provoked outrage on Sunday with controversial comments he made before the women's and men's finals at Indian Wells, and later issued an official apology.
The 69-year-old South African had earlier told reporters that top-level women's players rode "on the coattails of the men", did not make any decisions and were "very, very lucky" to have equal prize money, sparking a firestorm on social media.
Moore also singled out Canada's Eugenie Bouchard and Spaniard Garbine Muguruza as being among the "very attractive prospects" on the WTA circuit tour, before explaining that they were "physically attractive and competitively attractive".