Scheduling pleas 'like hitting head against wall'
French Open 2025Dates: 25 May-8 June Venue: Roland GarrosCoverage: Live radio commentaries across 5 Live Sport and BBC Sounds, plus live text commentaries on the BBC Sport website and app
Jessica Pegula says she feels like she is "hitting her head against the wall" over the annual discussion around the lack of women's night matches at the French Open.None of the night sessions during the first eight days of this year's Roland Garros have featured a women's singles match.It has led to accusations that not scheduling women's matches there implies female players are not "worthy" of the slot - something strongly rejected by French Open tournament director Amelie Mauresmo.Two-time Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur said "honouring one side of the sport shouldn't mean ignoring the other" in an impassioned social media post on Friday.Asked about the scheduling, American third seed Pegula said: "Every year it's the same thing. It's never equal."We are an event that is supposed to be equal. Why not give us some more chances to be?"It feels like just hitting my head against the wall because I feel like we have been talking about this for two, three, four [years] - probably forever, to be honest, because it's never been equal."
Sunday will be the 22nd successive evening in Paris where a women's singles match is not featured - a run stretching back to 2023, when Aryna Sabalenka beat Sloane Stephens.In a news conference on Friday, Mauresmo said no women's players have complained directly to her about the situation.The former women's world number one added: "the message has never been the girls are not worthy of playing at night".
Saturday's evening match - the slot most coveted for television audiences - sees men's Serb sixth seed Novak Djokovic face Austria's Filip Misolic, while Sunday night will see Holger Rune face Lorenzo Musetti."The women's game has been writing its own legacy loudly, brilliantly, and for far too long without too much recognition," Jabeur wrote on social media."The game is not asking to be seen. It is already shining."Pegula, who plays Frenchwoman Lois Boisson in the fourth round on Monday, said she supports Jabeur's message."I'm happy that she's able to speak up, and she's always been really good at wanting everything to be equal and fighting for not just where she's from, but also for women in general," Pegula added."I'm with her and I think we have proven that we deserve the same amount of opportunity."
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