French Open Night Session Under Scrutiny Amid Gender Debate
The prestigious French Open has faced renewed scrutiny over its controversial night session scheduling, with tournament director Amelie Mauresmo defending past decisions and highlighting a significant shift this year.
Since its inception in 2021, the single 8:15 PM slot has predominantly featured men’s matches. This has led to criticism, with only five women’s matches being allocated the primetime slot in total, the last occurring in 2023. Former world No. 2 Ons Jabeur has previously voiced her disappointment, stating, “I don’t think they have daughters, because I don’t think they want to treat their daughters like this.”
Historically, tournament director Amelie Mauresmo explained that scheduling best-of-five-set men’s matches was a pragmatic approach to ensure spectators received sufficient value for their tickets, guaranteeing longer contests.
However, this year marks a notable change. For the first time in three years, a women’s match has been scheduled for the coveted night session. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is set to face four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka on Monday evening.
Speaking about the ongoing debate earlier on Monday, Mauresmo ed her anticipation for a compelling contest between Sabalenka and Osaka.
“We always try to have good night sessions,” Mauresmo, herself a former World No. 1 and two-time Grand Slam champion, commented. “Tonight it’s Sabalenka versus Osaka. Both are multiple Grand Slam champions. It’s going to be a wonderful duel. I hope so [it’s going to be a long match]. They’re all in great shape. We’ve seen them involved since the beginning of the tournament.”
She elaborated on the players’ current form: “They’re fit and in good shape. Aryna wants to turn the ship around and take her revenge as to the finals that took place last year, so it’s cool. Naomi is doing very well on clay this year.”
When pressed on why, after 32 consecutive men’s matches in the night slot, a women’s contest was finally chosen to headline the evening, Mauresmo stated, “Well, I think this match is the best match of the day, multiple Grand Slam winners. It was obvious that it should be a night match tonight.”
Responding to a question about whether previous matches lacked sufficient quality, she reiterated that the potential duration of a match remained a key consideration, with men’s matches benefiting from the best-of-five-set format.
“Oh, the matchups are always interesting on both men and women, but you know, multiple factors for us to make the choice, as usual. As you know, the potential length of the matches is something that we are also looking, so it has been decided this at night,” Mauresmo explained. “I think it was pretty obvious this should be the night’s match. Like I was saying, [the length of a match] is still something that for us is one element of the decision, yes. Right, it’s part of it.”
