The French Open has imposed a $65,000 fine on Paraguayan tennis player Adolfo Vallejo after he made controversial comments about chair umpire Ana Carvalho following his second-round loss at Roland Garros.
Tournament director Amelie Mauresmo announced on Monday that Vallejo would fined half of his prize money due to remarks suggesting that a male umpire would have been better suited to officiate his match against French teenager Moise Kouame. Mauresmo strongly condemned the comments, stating that such views are unacceptable and have no place here.
“This is clearly unacceptable,” Mauresmo told reporters at Roland Garros. “Once again, such remarks have no place here.”
What led to the controversy?
The incident followed one of the tournament’s most dramatic encounters. Vallejo looked set for a comfortable victory after taking a two-set lead against 17-year-old wildcard Moise Kouame, however, the French youngster staged a remarkable comeback, eventually winning 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 2-6, 7-6 (8) in a match that lasted nearly five hours on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.
The crowd played a significant role throughout the contest, loudly supporting the home favourite. As Kouame gained momentum, Vallejo became increasingly frustrated with both the spectators and what he perceived to be a lack of control of the match by the chair umpire.
Speaking to tennis website Clay after the defeat, Vallejo questioned Carvalho’s handling of the atmosphere and argued that a male official would have been more capable of managing the situation.
“This sort of match needs to be umpired by a man,” Vallejo said. “It’s very difficult for a woman to do it.”
He further added: “It has to be refereed by a man, because it’s a very demanding crowd and you need a lot of strength to go against the crowd.”
Vallejo also criticised the behaviour of the spectators, saying they repeatedly crossed the line during the match.
“The crowd was very out of line, but I understand they’re supporting their compatriot,” he said. “It’s quite an intense crowd and that’s why I was prepared. I already knew it would be like that and, to be honest, it didn’t harm me, but rather strengthened him.”
Additionally, Vallejo accused his opponent of taking excessive time between points and games during the comeback.
“He’s taking a lot of time on many occasions, lying on the floor or stalling,” Vallejo said.
“And it’s not normal for the crowd to be shouting for a full minute without any play. In a match where the physical aspect matters so much, if you give a player a lot of time he’s obviously going to take advantage of it.”
The French Open reacted swiftly to the controversy, with tournament officials making it clear that such comments were considered inappropriate and violation to the values of the event.