French Open player risks losing entire Roland Garros prize money amid sexism storm
Moise Kouame’s vanquished opponent has hit out at chair umpire Ana Carvalho following his second-round French Open exit.
The 17-year-old stormed into a two-set lead on Wednesday on Court Suzanne Lenglen, before Adolfo Daniel Vallejo sent this thrilling match into a fifth set.
The teenage Frenchman eventually prevailed in four hours and 56 minutes with a 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 2-6, 7-6 (10-8) win in front of a raucous home crowd.
After the match, Paraguayan Vallejo took aim at experienced official Carvalho, claiming that this sort of battle is “very difficult” for a woman to be in charge of.
He told Clay Magazine, “This sort of match needs to be umpired by a man; it’s very difficult for a woman to do it. 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.”
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Vallejo added that the French Open crowd crossed the line when it comes to acceptable support, but stressed it “didn’t harm” him; rather, it helped his opponent.
The 22-year-old also aimed a not so subtle dig at Kouame for apparent time-wasting. The rules dictate that players are allowed a maximum of 25 seconds to either serve or receive after a point.
Vallejo continued, “The crowd was very out of line, but I understand they are supporting their compatriot. 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.
“I think he took up a lot of time on many occasions, lying on the floor or stalling. 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.”
Kouame, who backed up his win over 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic in the first round with this triumph, will now face former world No 19 Alejandro Tabilo in round three.
And according to the Grand Slam rulebook, Vallejo could be slapped with a £74,555 fine for unsportsmanlike conduct. He earned £75,500 for his first round win, so practically all of that could go if this punishment is handed out.
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