Confused John McEnroe calls out Roland Garros’ ‘absurd’ decision to brandish €65,000 fine
Adolfo Daniel Vallejo found himself in hot water when he questioned the legitimacy of a female umpire during his Roland Garros match with Moise Kouame.
“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,” said the Paraguayan to Clay Magazine after falling to a five-set defeat to the French teenager.
The remarks were rightly questioned by press, pundits, and fans, with an angry Andy Roddick taking aim at Vallejo after hearing his words.
Vallejo was fined €65,000 by Roland Garros, which is around half of the prize money he ended up making for reaching the second round of the Grand Slam.
John McEnroe, while not agreeing with Vallejo’s remarks, has questioned the sheer amount of money the Paraguayan has been forced to pay.
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Speaking on TNT Sports coverage of Roland Garros, the American icon said: “Here’s the thing: €65,000 to say something asinine? That seems absurd! I can see $5000, maybe $10,000.
“This guy, he doesn’t make the type of money. For this guy to walk out, he’s obviously stupid, but that is a big time fine. It’s his second language. He’s not a natural English speaker. He speaks Spanish. You’ve got to cut the guy a little slack.”
Vallejo’s sexist remarks is just one of many controversies that has hit Roland Garros this year in what has been a very challenging year for the Grand Slam.
Several players have complained about the Grand Slam’s advertising hoardings this year, including Casper Ruud, who complained during his match with Joao Fonseca.
He was joined by the likes of Katie Boulter, Zeynep Sonmez, and Alexander Blockx, who have all called upon the Grand Slam to move advertsing from the back of the court due to the dangers they pose.
On top of these issues, the debate surrounding prize money continues to rumble on at the Grand Slam. Aryna Sabelenka has led the charge and threatened a boycott over the distribution of prize money at Roland Garros and the other three major tournaments.
That has led to a press conference walk out and every post-match interview being limited to 15-minutes in protest to the amount of money dished out at the event.
Despite all the controversies, the on-court action has been utterly spellbinding. The early exits of Jannik Sinner, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, and Novak Djokovic has left the tournament wide on both the men’s and women’s draw.
That’s caused a very competitive draw with plenty of players desperate to capitalise on the opportunity they have been given by the top players.
