ATP Ace Slams Female Umpire at Roland Garros After Exit: “This Sort of Match Needs a Man”

Daniel Vallejo was greatly unhappy with the way the French crowd behaved during his second-round match against home favorite Moise Kouame at the Roland Garros. After losing the first two sets, the Paraguayan ace leveled the scores and had a 5-2 lead in the fifth set.

Vallejo, however, failed to get over the line, losing with a 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 2-6, 7-6 (10-8) scoreline after four hours and 56 minutes. Later at the press conference, he criticized the French crowd at the Suzanne Lenglen Stadium, who were aggressively cheering on Kouame. But he also censured chair umpire Ana Carvalho, saying she was not strong enough to control the crowd, and that only a male umpire can handle such situations.

This sort of match needs to be umpired by a man; it’s very difficult for a woman to do it… It has to be refereed by a man, because it’s a very demanding crowd and you need a lot of strength to go against the crowd. The crowd was very out of line, but I understand they’re supporting their compatriot. It’s quite an intense crowd, and that’s why I was prepared; I already knew it would be like that, and, to be honest, it didn’t harm me, but rather strengthened him.

Daniel Vallejo told CLAY

Players are allowed 25 seconds between points. The umpires can delay the countdown if there’s a lot of noise from the crowd.

I think he took up a lot of time on many occasions, lying on the floor or stalling. And it’s not normal for the crowd to be shouting for a full minute without any play. In a match where the physical aspect matters so much, if you give a player a lot of time, he’s obviously going to take advantage of it. The truth is, it’s also difficult for a referee to manage this situation.

Daniel Vallejo added

The 17-year-old Kouame will next be locking horns with Alejandro Tabilo in the third round. Kouame made his Grand Slam main draw debut in this tournament. Also in his home Major last year, he made his Grand Slam qualifying debut.

Another female umpire was criticized by Jim Courier

Chair umpire Aurelie Tourte also found herself on the receiving end of criticism because of the decision she took during Jannik Sinner‘s second-round match against Juan Manuel Cerundolo. After easily winning the first two sets, Sinner was on the verge of securing a spot in the third round as he led 5-1 in the third set.

But he suffered cramps and never recovered. He was losing games one after the other, and this saw the Argentine tie the score before securing a 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1 win, clinching the biggest win of his career.

When Sinner started moving strangely, he was expected to receive a time violation for taking longer than the allotted time to get ready for the next point. But instead, Tourte got down from the chair, spoke to the four-time Grand Slam champion, and started explaining what Sinner could do in that situation.

Jannik Sinner is being seen by the physio in the 3rd set against Cerundolo at Roland Garros.

He was up 5-1.

The score is now 5-4, 0-40 with Jannik serving for the match…

Jannik: “If I give time away, how does it work now? I can’t do it. I cannot wait.”

Umpire: “if you… pic.twitter.com/J4XUcSRTPK

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) May 28, 2026

She was criticized by former ATP player Jim Courier, who said from TNT Sports’ commentator’s box:

You can’t do that; Tourte should have started the clock. It’s unfair on Cerundolo.

Sinner will not be able to complete the Career Grand Slam in this year’s French Open. He was on a 30-match winning streak before entering Philippe-Chatrier for his second-round match.

He lifted the first five Masters 1000s of the season, and his streak started from the Indian Wells Masters. His win in Rome made him the second man, after Novak Djokovic, to complete the Career Golden Masters.

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