French Open Director Amelie Mauresmo Brushes Off Women Not ‘Worthy’ of Night Session Criticism

All seven matches scheduled at 8:15 PM have been men's singles so far, including Novak Djokovic's fourth-round clash.

French Open Director Amelie Mauresmo Brushes Off Women Not ‘Worthy’ of Night Session Criticism

Amelie Mauresmo (Image via YouTube/Tennis Actu TV)

Last year at the French Open, all 11 matches that were put on the 8:15 PM slot were men’s matches. Since the inception of the night session, only four women’s events were a part of it.

The last time the French Open featured a prime-time women’s match was in 2023. At Roland Garros, only one match gets scheduled at 8:15 PM on Court Philippe-Chatrier, while at the Australian Open and the US Open, two matches get the prime-time slot (one Men’s and one Women’s).

Amidst the debate of women’s matches not getting a slot in the night session, French Open director Amelie Mauresmo dismissed criticism that the tournament is prioritizing men’s matches. During a press conference, Mauresmo was asked by a journalist about her thoughts on the consequence of “telling women that they’re not worthy”.

Mauresmo was taken aback by that question and the journalist elaborated that because of the decision to feature men’s matches during the prime time, many women interpreted that the tournament wanted to show more men’s events.

The two-time Grand Slam champion clarified that “one unique match” is scheduled in the evening by keeping only the fans in mind; because men’s players play the best-of-five sets, they get the night session as women’s matches can end quickly because they play the best-of-three.

What I’m saying is I’m talking and we are talking, because I’m not the only one to make the decisions, about potential match length. In this perspective, it is hard to say that the two sets can go really fast when the 3 sets, you have 3 sets minimum. So it’s…I don’t know…one and a half hours, two hours, maybe more, I don’t know. For me, it’s the length of the matches.

The first six matches scheduled at 8:15 PM have been men’s. On Saturday, 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic‘s third-round clash with Filip Misolic is scheduled at 8:15 PM. He wanted the organizers to make him play earlier because he wanted to watch the Champions League final between Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan. But for Mauresmo, the “final won’t change much for us“.

Iga Swiatek makes her feelings known on the scheduling controversy

When Iga Swiatek was asked about the scheduling controversy, she made it clear that she prefers playing during the day because if she finishes her matches early, she gets more time to rest. When Swiatek was once again quizzed at the press conference about this after her victory over Jaqueline Cristian in the third round, the Pole advocated for women’s matches to be placed in the prime-time slot.

Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek (Image via X/Jimmie48 Photography)

I think it should be equal, although it doesn’t worry me too much, I focus on doing my job. I adapt to the schedule I’m given and that’s it, but yes, I think it should be equal because women’s matches can also provide a high level of entertainment.

Two-time Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur said it’s “sad” that the tournament shows more men’s tennis by scheduling them at night. Coco Gauff, like Swiatek, wants to finish her matches early but if the tournament starts to feature two matches at night, she said Women’s ones should be scheduled before 8:15 PM because it would be “unfair” if they are held after the Men’s best-of-five matches, because then, Women’s matches will start around 11:00 PM.

Along with the controversy about the timing of matches, there are also debates about courts. During the Madison Keys versus Katie Boulter second-round match, Chatrier saw many empty stands. Novak Djokovic’s match, which was scheduled on Suzanne Lenglen, saw a full crowd when he was playing against home favorite Corentin Moutet.

Also read: Aryna Sabalenka Reveals Her Change of Personality on the Court After Her Third-Round Win at Garros