Amelie Mauresmo, director of the first women’s tournament in Roland-Garros, apologized for saying that women’s tennis was less appealing than men’s tennis, claiming she was quoted “out of context”.
A former top player and two-time Grand Slam champion, Mauresmo has been widely criticized after nine men’s matches in the 10-night session of the championship.
Maurice’s comments about the lack of attraction to women’s tennis by World No. 1 and title contender Iga Suatek are extremely disappointing.
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“I want to say sorry to the players who really felt bad about what I said,” Mauresmo told the Tennis Channel.
“The comments I made were taken from context.
“Those who know me, those who know me on and off the court, throughout my career, whatever I have done, know that I am a great fighter for equal rights and women’s tennis, for women in general.”
A former Clay-Court Grand Slam winner, Suatek, who will meet American Coco Goff in Saturday’s final, has played his previous six matches during the day.
The only night session to show the women’s match – part of a deal with a streaming service – the victory of Alejandro Cornet of France against Jelena Ostapenko in the second round.
In his first year under Roland-Garros, Mauresmo said it was challenging for spectators to have late women’s matches with an evening session, including a match, but the tournament would adjust to a better format for future sessions. Balance
“I didn’t decide to make this one a match,” he said.
“To be more fair to women players next year, it would be better to have two matches or one women’s match and one doubles match.
“Regarding scheduling, especially for night matches, my point is that we only have one match, so it’s really difficult to schedule women’s matches because we have to consider the length. It’s fair for ticket holders to do that.
“We will try to find a good solution to be fair to everyone. We have tried to modernize the event, go ahead and make some adjustments.”
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