Patrick Mouratoglou Wants Female Players to Shut Up Critics by Playing Five-Setters in Grand Slam Events

Patrick Mouratoglou feels Roland Garros organizers have to put men's matches in the primetime slot to please the fans.

Patrick Mouratoglou Wants Female Players to Shut Up Critics by Playing Five-Setters in Grand Slam Events

Patrick Mouratoglou (Image via X/Bleu Blanc Rouge!)

Patrick Mouratoglou is convinced that women tennis players are capable of playing five-setters. His opinion came amid debate about the French Open schedule.

Critics argued that the French Open organizers are showing more men’s tennis to the fans by scheduling them in the night session. According to Roland Garros director Amelie Mauresmo, women’s tennis can end quickly as they play the three-setter format, so their matches are not put in the prime-time slot.

Ons Jabeur thinks this is “sad”, and Coco Gauff agrees; though both she and three-time Roland Garros defending champion Iga Swiatek prefer to play the day session. World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka too advocated for the night sessions.

Mirra Andreeva said she would be able to answer about the scheduling controversy after getting more experience on the tour, while men’s World No.1 Jannik Sinner believes men playing five-setters are the reason behind them getting the primetime slot. The three-time Grand Slam champion, however, thinks the tournament can schedule two women’s matches at night to solve this problem.

Many believe five-setters should be introduced in women’s tennis as well, so there won’t be much debate about the prize money and schedules. Serena Williams‘ former coach Mouratoglou too is of the same opinion. Naomi Osaka‘s coach thinks women are physically able to play the five-setters in Grand Slam matches like men and it would “make them look good“, and they will also be sending a good message to the critics.

‘We [female players] want to be treated equally and we are prepared to do also to show that we deserve it. We play longer matches, it’s more difficult physically, but we are able to do it and we want to do it’. And my take is why not? Women can for sure, they’re able to, and in a way when you say ‘I want to be treated equal and I’m prepared to do what it takes’.

Patrick Mouratoglou said on Instagram

Patrick Mouratoglou shares his take on scheduling controversy

According to Patrick Mouratoglou, a tournament director’s task is to please the fans, and they will be “extremely unhappy” if a match ends quickly. He thinks most of the spectators in the stadiums are not core fans of tennis and when they buy tickets, they wish to see the superstars, saying Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka’s audiences cannot be compared to Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic‘s.

Patrick Mouratoglou
Patrick Mouratoglou (Image via Vogue)

If they come back and they say ‘I saw [Iga] Swiatek’, it’s not the same. It’s not only about leading players like Iga Swiatek, who is a four-time winner, and a three-time winner at the moment. She’s not a superstar like Serena when she was playing or [Maria] Sharapova when she was playing.

Patrick Mouratoglou said on Instagram

Djokovic and Alcaraz have reached the Roland Garros semifinals and will be meeting Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti, respectively. The Serb is chasing his record 25th Major title while Sinner is bidding to win his first title in the clay-court Major.

Alcaraz is playing as the defending champion and last year, en route to defeating Alexander Zverev in the final, he knocked out Sinner in the semifinals. He will be meeting Musetti for the second time this season following the Monte Carlo Masters final.

In women’s tennis, Sabalenka and Gauff will be playing the final on Saturday (June 7). The three-time Grand Slam champion became a first-time finalist at the French Open after knocking out four-time Roland Garros champion Swiatek in the semifinal, ending her 26-match win streak. Gauff went past home favorite Lois Boisson to reach her second final in the tournament following the 2022 season where Swiatek beat her in straight sets.

Also read: Novak Djokovic Cherishes ‘Big Occasion’ Against Jannik Sinner in the Roland Garros Semifinals