World No. 2 Coco Gauff has voiced her strong support for women’s matches to be featured in night sessions at the French Open, echoing sentiments shared by fellow player Ons Jabeur. This discussion reignited recently, highlighting ongoing concerns about gender representation in the tournament schedule.
As it currently stands, the prime-time slot at Roland Garros, scheduled for 8:15 PM, has exclusively showcased men’s matches. Notably, there were no women’s matches in this coveted time slot last year. Jabeur criticized the French Tennis Federation’s president, Gilles Moretton, for suggesting that the match schedule is based on what is “better for spectators.”
In a statement after her victory over Tereza Valentova, which allowed her to progress to the third round, Gauff remarked, “I do think that women’s matches are worthy of a night spot.” She expressed her agreement with Jabeur’s perspective, emphasizing the high-quality tennis that female players bring to the sport. “We have some great stars on the women’s side who fans I’m sure would love to see,” she added.
Gauff drew from her personal experiences, referencing a night match at the US Open where interest in her match seemed comparable to that in a match featuring Novak Djokovic, whom she regarded as “the greatest player of all time.” She continued, “I definitely think there is opportunity to improve that in the future with this tournament.”
Amelie Mauresmo, the tournament director, is anticipated to address this issue during an upcoming press conference, set for Friday morning.
This year’s French Open has seen significant representation from American players, with Gauff leading a contingent of 14 competitors into the second round of the women’s singles, marking the highest number of entries from the U.S. since 1987. The total of 22 American players advancing—14 women and 8 men—represents the most since 1994.
As the tournament progresses, five American women have already secured their places in the third round, including high seeds Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys, alongside Sofia Kenin and Hailey Baptiste.
