Amelie Mauresmo, a former No. 1 player in her first year as Roland-Garros first female tournament director, said nine of the 10 night sessions at Roland Garros involved men’s matches because women’s tennis currently has less “appeal”.
Speaking at the traditional second-week press conference for an overview of the Clay-Court Grand Slam tournament, Mauresmo said he tried on a daily basis to find a female pair who deserved to be highlighted in separate sessions starting with Star Power or a match-up. 8:45 pm local time at Court Philippe Chatterjee.
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“I admit it was difficult,” said Mauricio, 42, of France.
Mauresmo’s comments came just months after the sudden retirement of No. 1 Ash Barty in the women’s game, the Australian Open and Wimbledon champion and former winner of the Roland-Garros.
His successor as No. 1, Iga Sweettech, said after his quarter-final win in Paris on Wednesday that he found Maurice’s comments “a little disappointing and surprising.”
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“It’s everyone’s personal opinion if they like men’s tennis or women’s tennis more or if they like them equally, then I think women’s tennis has a lot of advantages,” said the 2020 French Open champion who won the switches. 33 matches in a row. “And some might say it’s unpredictable and girls aren’t compatible. But on the other hand, it can be something that’s really interesting and it can really attract more people.”
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This year’s French Open starts on May 22 and ends on Sunday. The last of the 10 night sessions was scheduled for Wednesday, and the only women’s match that received prime-time treatment – part of a deal with a streaming service – was won by Alejandro Cornet of France against Jelena Ostapenko in the second round.
When asked about the decision-making process, Mauresmo said in French that having only one match per night session made it “more difficult” to have a women’s match. For example, night sessions at the US Open usually include a women’s match and a men’s match.
“In this age that we’re in now, I don’t feel – and as a woman, as a former female player, I don’t feel bad or unfair to say it at the moment – you have more … appeal,” said Mauresmo. That’s the decent thing to do, and it should end there. “
He added: “My goal was, when I was scheduling every day, to try from the first round, when was the draw … ‘What match can I put in the women’s draw?’ To be honest. “
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Mauresmo was at the top of the first WTA rankings in 2004 and returned to that position after the win. 2006 Australian Open and Wimbledon.
His last major tournament was the 2009 US Open. After retiring as a player, Mauresmo moved to coaching and worked with Andy Murray, Lucas Puili and Marion Bertoli, and captained France in the team competition now known as the Billy Jean King Cup.
Mauricemore held a session with reporters on Tuesday morning after 13-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal’s 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4) quarter-final victory over defending champion Novak Djokovic. The match lasted 4 hours, 12 minutes and ended after 1 am, with some of the 15,000 or more spectators unable to use public transport to get home.
“This is actually a key issue that needs to be addressed, and it will be one of our top priorities in the future,” said Mauresmo. “We haven’t made any plans yet, but obviously we have to organize ourselves separately with the Paris transport department, including the bus system, the underground system. If we can continue this night’s sessions in this direction, people will have to leave the stadium late enough and make sure they have a way to get back home, as they should. “
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Nadal, through the media, and his manager, Carlos Costa, directly with Mauricio, the owner of 21 Grand Slam titles, has made it clear that he prefers not to play at night because of the cold temperatures affecting his shots. It dropped below 15 degrees during its quarterfinals.
When asked about him, Mauresmo removes the question and answers: “Rafa has shown us how great a champion he is, beyond all consideration.”
Mauresmo said a full review of the entire tournament would be conducted after it was over, which would consider changes to the night session and other schedule issues.
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