Tennis News: Because women’s tennis now has less attraction, Amelie Mauresmo, the French Open’s first female tournament director, revealed on Wednesday that nine of the ten-night sessions at Roland Garros were men’s matches.
Mauresmo said she tried to locate a women’s partnership with star power or a matchup worthy of being featured in the separate session that began at 8.45 pm local time in Court Philippe Chatrier every day during the usual second-week news conference to recap the clay-court Grand Slam tournament.
“I admit it was tough,” said Mauresmo, a 42-year-old from France who first topped the WTA rankings in 2004 and returned to that spot after winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2006.
Her most recent big tournament was the US Open in 2009. Mauresmo turned into coaching after retiring as a player, working with Andy Murray, Lucas Pouille, and Marion Bartoli, among others, and serving as France’s captain for the team competition currently known as the Billie Jean King Cup.
The French Open started on May 22 and will finish on Sunday. The final of the ten night sessions was set on Wednesday, and the only women’s match that received prime-time coverage was Aliz Cornet’s second-round triumph over Jelena Ostapenko of France.
When asked about the decision-making process, Mauresmo explained in French that the fact that each night session only had one match made it more difficult to have that match be a women’s match. At the US Open, for example, night sessions normally feature one women’s match and one men’s match.
“In this era that we are in right now, I don’t feel – and as a woman, former women’s player, I don’t feel bad or unfair saying that, right now you have more… appeal,” Mauresmo said. “That’s the general (reasons) for the men’s matches.”
She added: “My goal was, when I was doing the schedule every day, to try and see, from the first round, when the draw came out… what match in the woman’s draw can I put there? Honestly.”
Iga Swiatek, the world number one, was disappointed by Mauresmo’s attitude.
She said: “Oh, it is a little bit disappointing and surprising because she was also in the WTA.
“However, from my perspective, it is more convenient for every player to play at a normal hour, but I do want to entertain and display my best tennis in every match.”
“So I think it’s a matter of personal preference whether a person prefers men’s or women’s tennis, or if they enjoy both equally. However, I believe that women’s tennis offers numerous advantages.
“Some may argue that it’s unpredictably unpredictable and that girls are inconsistent.
“But on the other hand it may also be something that is really appealing and it may really attract more people. So it depends on the personal views of some people.”
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