How Daniel Vallejo’s French Open fine compares to Serena Williams’ infamous Grand Slam sanction
Adolfo Daniel Vallejo has received one of the biggest Grand Slam fines of all time following his sexist remarks against a female umpire.
The Paraguayan lost a thrilling five-setter to Moise Kouame in the second round of the French Open last week, as the raucous home support cheered the 17-year-old on to victory.
The world No 70 was not best pleased at the crowd and how chair umpire Ana Carvalho handled the situation on Court Suzanne Lenglen. That frustration then boiled over in a post-match interview.
Vallejo said, “Matches like this have 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 it.”
Andy Roddick heavily criticised the 22-year-old and after tournament organisers warned his comments were unacceptable, a hefty punishment has been handed out.
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Tournament director Amelie Mauresmo has confirmed that Vallejo has received a fine of “roughly half of his prize money”, with the 6ft 1in player earning £112,000 for reaching the second round.
The Asuncion native’s £56,000 sanction is one of the biggest in majors history.
At the 2025 US Open, Daniil Medvedev was fined £31,568 for his behaviour (unsportsmanlike conduct and racket abuse) during his first-round loss to Benjamin Bonzi.
Back in 1995, Jeff Tarango set a record for the biggest Grand Slam punishment of £38,000 when he stormed off court in protest over chair umpire Bruno Rebeuh.
The American called him “one of the most corrupt officials in the game” and his wife is said to have slapped Rebeuh in the face afterwards.
However, a certain Serena Williams – who is set to make her comeback to the WTA Tour after stepping away from the sport nearly four years ago – was fined $82,500 for her foul-mouthed tirade at a US Open line judge in 2009.
Adjusted for inflation today, that would be €127,169 (£94,846). The 44-year-old will hope she won’t incur any big fines when she returns to the tour this month.
Incidentally, Nick Kyrgios was fined $113,000 following his second-round loss to Karen Khachanov at the Cincinnati Masters in 2019. The Australian was charged with unsportsmanlike conduct, verbal abuse, audible obscenity and for leaving the court.
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