“Embarrassing” – Fans Wonder if Women’s Tennis Should Have Night Matches at Roland Garros After Empty Stands Spotted Before Madison Keys-Katie Boulter Encounter

The Roland Garros organizers have been heavily criticized for choosing only men's singles matches in the night session slot, without a single women's match.

“Embarrassing” – Fans Wonder if Women’s Tennis Should Have Night Matches at Roland Garros After Empty Stands Spotted Before Madison Keys-Katie Boulter Encounter

Madison Keys and Katie Boulter (via X/The Tennis Letter/LTA)

The major debate at the Roland Garros has been that no women’s matches are scheduled in the tournament’s night session. Several players including Coco Gauff and Ons Jabeur have slammed the organizers for treating women unfairly. However, Madison Keys‘ second match against Katie Boulter at the Court Philippe-Chatrier proved otherwise.

The French Open night session was introduced in 2021, featuring just one singles match on Court Philippe-Chatrier. A women’s match has not been put in this primetime slot since 2023, meaning all the past 19 night-time sessions have been men’s singles matches.

Also, only four women’s singles matches have been played in the night session since the inception of the schedule. This year’s edition, the first six night sessions at the Roland Garros have all been men’s matches. Every year, questions are raised about whether the tournament organizers are doing well enough to promote the women’s game.

This year has not been an exception. Players have questioned why the trend has continued and Roland Garros’ inability to change it. Nonetheless, on Thursday (May 29), Keys and Boulter faced each other at the Court Philippe-Chatrier in the afternoon session with the stands nearly empty.

At the same time, Joao Fonseca’s tie against Pierre-Hugues Herbert was at full capacity in Court 14. In fact, Novak Djokovic’s match against Corentin Moutet was moved to Court Suzanne Lenglen despite the Serb being a three-time champion.

This has led fans on X to conclude that the issue isn’t about the night session but rather about what they love to watch. Several fans reacted to the empty seats at the Court Philippe-Chatrier:

Sharing a wide spectrum of reactions online, here’s what fans have to say:

Keys went on to beat Boulter 6-1, 6-3 to extend her run to nine consecutive Grand Slam wins. The Australian Open champion has made a strong start to her 13th appearance at the Roland Garros, where her best result was a semi-final spot in 2018. She will face fellow American, Sofia Kenin, in the third round for a place in the round of 16 at the Roland Garros.

French Open director rejects the accusations that women’s matches are unworthy of the night session slot

French Open tournament director Amelie Mauresmo has rejected the accusations that women’s matches are not worthy of getting a night session slot after Ons Jabeur and Coco Gauff criticized the decision. The issue has become a major discussion and has been asked during each female player’s press conference. Mauresmo stated that women’s matches ending fast is the justification behind the choice:

The message has never been the girls are not worthy of playing at night. It’s never been this. There is nothing new under the sun compared to the previous editions. We have one single match per night session. It hasn’t changed. We won’t change everything again. Two sets can go really fast when you have three sets minimum – that’s the lens for me. It’s not the level the [women] reach right now. I’m not talking about this.

Amelie Mauresmo
Amelie Mauresmo (via BBC)

Also, Mauresmo added that the tournament does not want to have two matches in the night session like the Australian Open and US Open for fear of creating late-night finishes. This comes after Jack Draper’s win against Gael Monfils in the second round ended at 11:45 pm (local time) at the Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Also Read: Coco Gauff Backs Ons Jabeur’s Criticism of French Open Prioritizing Men’s Schedule