Ons Jabeur has criticised Roland Garros for snubbing women’s tennis, saying “I don’t think they have daughters”. The French Open introduced night-session matches in 2021, but they have almost always been men’s singles matches. Last year, all 11 primetime matches featured men and the three this year have followed suit. Wednesday night’s match is the 12th seed, Holger Rune, against the world No 137, Emilio Nava.
Gilles Moretton, the president of the French Tennis Federation, caused controversy this week when he said the schedule is dictated by what will be “better for spectators”. Jabeur, a former Wimbledon runner-up said: “It’s sad we are still seeing this. In Europe, it’s unfortunate for women’s sports in general. Whoever is making the decision, I don’t think they have daughters, because I don’t think they want to treat their daughters like this.
“It’s a bit ironic. They don’t show women’s sport, they don’t show women’s tennis, and then they ask the question, ‘yeah, but mostly they watch men’. Of course they watch men more because you show men more. It’s a shame from the Federation, a shame from [Amazon] Prime, that they made such a contract like this. A lot of great players, they deserve to be there.
“One of the matches was Naomi [Osaka] and Paula [Badosa]. Such an unbelievable match. They were supposed to be there. Like last year, Iga [Swiatek] and Naomi was supposed to be there. I’m not sure what kind of fans he’s talking about. I know I’m a fan. I will watch that match.”
Jabeur suffered a first-round exit at Roland Garros on Tuesday when she was beaten in straight sets by Poland’s Magdalena Frech.
