Coco Gauff says ‘no one really wants’ French Open night session slot

Coco Gauff has said the lack of French Open women’s night matches “sucks”, but revealed that “no one really wants” to play in the late slot.
The world No 6 explained that the WTA players she has spoken to are “happy with the men taking it” instead of playing late at night.
The match between Sloane Stephens and Aryna Sabalenka on Sunday is the first women’s singles contest to have been selected for the night slot on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Prior to that, all six of the late matches played in the tournament were men’s singles encounters.
Gauff defeated 16-year-old rising star Mirra Andreeva 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-1 in the third round at Roland Garros on Saturday.
After progressing to the last 16, the 19-year-old was asked about the disparity between men’s and women’s matches being chosen for the night session spot.
“I didn’t see that they (Sabalenka and Stephens) were scheduled. I didn’t realise only the men have been scheduled in that spot,” Gauff said in her post-match press conference.
“I don’t know if the night session amongst the players is a popular hotspot, to be honest. I guess for the TV and that’s the prime spot, maybe yes, it does suck in that sense.
“But amongst the players and from my conversations, I don’t think a lot of people want that spot just because it is a late night. I really don’t have much say on that.
“I mean, just speaking to the players, I don’t know if Sloane or Aryna wanted to play at that time, but I know the ones I spoke to, no one really wants the night session.
“On that sense, we were happy with the men taking it, but obviously it is the prime spot. So it does suck a little bit in that way. It depends on how you think about it, to be honest.”
Former world No 27 Laura Robson, now a Eurosport tennis expert, gave her thoughts on the scheduling controversy.
“I don’t think [Alexander] Zverev v [Frances] Tiafoe (the night match on Saturday) is a bad match at all – I think that’s a great match and it has so much potential, both players playing some good clay-court tennis, Tiafoe always brings in the energy, he gets the crowd involved,” Robson told Eurosport.
“Zverev started to win the crowd over in his last match where he played in the night session by saying he was going to become French for the next 10 days.
“But ultimately you look at any of the women’s matches on the schedule and you can say the same things about them, and say the same positive things about the players involved.
“Gauff is a star and [Iga] Swiatek is a star, and they should get the opportunity to show that on the biggest stage.”
READ MORE: Iga Swiatek lauded by tennis great for ‘ruthless’ French Open double bagel
Latest
-
Tennis Features
Six ways clay courts are superior to hard courts
Clay courts often get a bad rap with the odd player gripe repeated endlessly in the media, but the surface has a number of big upsides.
-
Tennis News
WATCH: Intense Felix Auger-Aliassime brushes off Laver Cup spat with Gael Monfils
Felix Auger-Aliassime and Gael Monfils shared some heated moments after the Canadian complained to the umpire during their Laver Cup clash.
-
ATP Tour
More questions for Andy Murray to answer after another agonising defeat
Andy Murray blew an early lead as he crashed to defeat against Aslan Karatsev in the last 16.
-
Tennis News
Roger Federer reveals what he misses about tennis as Rafael Nadal surprises him
Speaking in an interview with former world No 1 Jim Courier at the Laver Cup, the 20-time Grand Slam champion reflected on how his life chan
-
US Open
Top coach spotted Coco Gauff’s potential very early on
Patrick Mouratoglou has revealed that Coco Gauff left a big impression on him during their first meeting.
-
Tennis News
British star set for rankings breakthrough after a decade on the ATP Tour
Liam Broady set to break into the top 100 of the ATP rankings for the first time.
-
Tennis News
Guadalajara proves a balm for Maria Sakkari’s suffering once again
Maria Sakkari feels that the bond between herself and Guadalajara has grown closer after another deep run in the Mexican city.
-
Tennis News
Novak Djokovic hits raw nerve with tennis chiefs after latest controversial comments
Djokovic has made some radical proposals that would ensure the huge amounts of cash being generated by gambling goes to tennis players.
-
Tennis News
Ben Shelton salutes the three players who have taken him under their wing
Ben Shelton has paid homage to the brotherhood of the top American men in the game.
-
Tennis News
Can Cameron Norrie still reach the ATP Tour finals powered by strong Asian swing?
Cameron Norrie is out to reach the ATP Tour finals this term.