The night scheduling imbalance debate resurfaced as Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka’s quarterfinal matches against Elina Svitolina and Zheng Qinwen, respectively, at the French Open were not preferred over Tommy Paul and Carlos Alcaraz’s match for the night session on June 3.
There has been an ongoing distress with the situation, as some believe that the tournament organisers have an inclination towards putting men’s matches in the night sessions due to gender bias. Others put forward the argument that the decision is based largely on business, as men’s match tickets sell out at a higher rate.
As the schedule for the first day of quarterfinals was released, fans took to X (formerly Twitter) to express their grief at snubbing high-voltage women’s singles matches for the night sessions of the French Open.
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Here are some fan reactions:
"Again no woman in night session! Amelie Mauresmo was one of my favorite players, and I’m beyond disappointed she has not done anything to change this. The French Open should be ashamed! Give us a statement as to why you think the men are a better night draw then woman. Pathetic," wrote one.
"So now that a French woman is in QF, will there finally be a night session?? I'll bet a 1000 dls that still they won't," posted another.
"4x Champion French Open champion and @rolandgarros couldn’t put Iga on a night session. That does not make sense," condemned another.
"so has there not been a single women’s match in the night session the whole tournament?! how is the best women’s lineup we’ve seen at rg in a long while being treated like this?!" opined a fan.
"Svitolina - Swiatek not in Night…." another posted (translated from French).
Many players have also joined in to make their opinions known on this matter, with people like Ons Jabeur and Jessica Pegula openly condemning this act by the tournament. The tournament organisers also made a statement on this.
Amelie Mauresmo on night scheduling imbalance at French Open
After being under fire for not putting women's matches in primetime slots at the French Open, tournament director Amelie Mauresmo addressed the gender bias allegations at a press conference on May 30.
"For me, the message is not changing, and it has never been that the girls are not worthy to play at night. It's never been this. I will not accept that you carry this message. That's really clear to me," she said.
She said that they can't do anything about the number of matches at the night session as of now, and the decisions are made after considering play time and potential play time. She further stated that men's matches take priority because they are longer, giving spectators more value for their money.
