Ons Jabeur Exposes Roland Garros in an Intense Rant Over no Night Matches for Women

Ons Jabeur faced an opening round defeat at the Roland Garros to Magdalena Frech.

Ons Jabeur Exposes Roland Garros in an Intense Rant Over no Night Matches for Women

Ons Jabeur (image via Roland Garros)

Since the Roland Garros introduced the night session in 2021, organizers have reserved it almost entirely for men. This decision has been under fire from time to time and several players have been asked their opinion on it. While some players are indifferent to this system of scheduling, others are critical of it. 

During a press conference on Tuesday, Ons Jabeur slammed the organizers of the tournament for sidelining women’s matches from the coveted night sessions, with none featured at the night in almost two years. The two-time Roland Garros quarterfinalist stood by the stance she took last year on the issue: 

I stand by my words, it's regrettable for women's sports, not for sports in general, but for women's sports overall...They don't showcase women's sports, they don't showcase women's tennis, and then they ask, 'What you see the most is men's sports.' Of course, people see more men, because they are given more visibility. Everything fits together that way. It's a shame that the Federation and Prime signed a contract like this.

French federation President Gilles Moretton defended the tournament’s choices, saying on Monday the ‘best match’ was scheduled at night. He emphasized that for the night session, they need to put what they think could be the better match for the spectators.

Jabuer played her opening round match at Roland Garros against Magdalena Frech. The Tunisian lost in straight sets, getting bageled in the second set. Frech will now face Marketa Vondrousova in the next round of the tournament.

Iga Swiatek is unbothered by match scheduling at Roland Garros

Four-time Roland Garros champion Iga Swiatek shared a blunt response when she was asked about men benefiting by being given a bigger stage at the tournament. The Pole remarked that she didn’t seem bothered by this decision and claimed to always prefer morning sessions over night sessions, as they allow for longer rest. 

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

Fifth seed Swiatek commenced her Roland Garros title defense by defeating Rebecca Skramkova in the opening round. The Pole cruised past Emma Raducanu in the next round in straight sets.

Coco Gauff believes girls would rather prefer playing before the men’s matches

During the press conference after her opening round match, Coco Gauff spoke on the night sessions at Roland Garros. The World No. 2 expressed her views but clarified that she wasn’t critical of the tournament’s choices.

Coco Gauff
Coco Gauff (via X)

The 21-year-old believes that most girls wouldn’t want to play after the 8:15 match. She was sure that most girls on tour would rather not play after a men’s match. Ultimately, she said that it is the organizer’s decision and didn’t express discontentment with it. 

Gauff had a strong start to her clay court season. She was runner-up at both the Madrid Open and Italian Open and will be a tough competitor at the Roland Garros. She defeated Olivia Gadecki in straight sets at Round 1 of the Roland Garros and will face Tereza Valentova in the next round.

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