French Open row erupts over claims women's tennis is being undermined

Telegraph

4 days ago

Meanwhile, the Women's Tennis Association put out a statement calling for 'a balanced match schedule that showcases the best of both women's and men's tennis – and in premium scheduling slots'.
But Amélie Mauresmo, the former Wimbledon champion who is now the French Open's tournament director, remains implacably opposed to the idea of women in the night slot.
In a press briefing on Friday morning, she put the policy down to the difference between best-of-three set matches – the format used in the women's draw – and the best-of-five-set contests played by the men.
Mauresmo said: 'The play time also is taken into consideration, potential play time, obviously because we can't plan ahead, be it for women's tennis or men's tennis. But we have to take it into consideration as to the 15,000 spectators coming in for the night session.'
When asked whether this scheduling approach transmits the impression that women are not worthy of being promoted, Mauresmo bridled and replied: 'That's not what we're saying. I have to stop you right there. For me, the message that I always said, and I will repeat, is the conditions have not changed of having one unique match in the evening. The message has never been the girls are not worthy of playing at night. It's never been this.'
'We are being told that no one watches, that no one cares'
And yet, the preferential treatment for men extends through the whole day at Roland Garros. The tournament pays lip service to the idea of a balanced number of men's and women's matches on the big stadium courts, but invariably schedules the women in the lower-profile opening slots – either at 12 noon on Chatrier or 11am on the other two roofed arenas of Court Suzanne-Lenglen and Court Simonne-Mathieu.
These are the quietest times to play, because the crowds at Roland Garros tend to build during the day. And while there may be a chicken-and-egg aspect to this debate – with tournament organisers using low attendances to justify unfavourable scheduling – Jabeur pointed out that such perceptions are self-reinforcing.
'A lot of amazing athletes have been told the same things over and over,' she added. 'That no one watches. That no one cares. That women's sport doesn't 'move people'.
'Judgment comes quickly, often from those who've never even watched a full match. One empty stadium is held up as proof. The packed ones? Conveniently ignored. A missed shot becomes a headline. The hundreds of brilliant ones? Forgotten.'
The French Open is in a unique position among the four slams, because it is the only one that schedules a daily night session with just a single match. In Melbourne and New York, there will be two singles matches played, split between women and men. At Wimbledon, there is no night session at all.