WIMBLEDON, England ? The WTA Tour is unhappy with how Anna Kournikova was interviewed by BBC-TV at Wimbledon, saying Tuesday that questions were harsh and insensitive.

The BBC responded that the questions about Kournikova’s game were “not unreasonable.”

Kournikova

Kournikova was visibly irritated during the interview after her 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 first-round loss Monday to Tatiana Panova.

After failing to get past the first round for the fourth tournament in a row, Kournikova lost her temper when interviewer Garry Richardson suggested she should consider playing some lower-tier tournaments.

“I just don’t think you should phrase the question that way,” she snapped. She stood up, and asked that the taped segment start over. The BBC later aired the entire session.

WTA Tour spokesman Chris de Maria said talks were held with the BBC about the interview.

“We’ve had discussions with the BBC and said perhaps they could have been a little more sensitive to the player that lost,” de Maria told the Associated Press. “Sometimes you have to take an extra pause to understand the sensitivities of the player that lost.

“We talked with Anna afterward. There was, I think, a legitimacy to her irritation to the way the questions were posed … they were probably being phrased a little more bit harshly than they needed to be.

“It’s unfortunate that after she requested they start again, that they showed the entire thing from the start to finish.”