Patrick Mouratoglou makes controversial Iga Swiatek comment amid French Open row
Renowned tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou has commented on the popularity of Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff as he weighed in on the French Open scheduling controversy.
No women’s matches have been held in the night session slot during the 2025 French Open, which has sparked intense debate.
Amelie Mauresmo, a former world No 1 who is the French Open tournament director, has faced much of the scrutiny over the night session match selection.
Mouratoglou currently coaches four-time women’s major winner Naomi Osaka, while he previously worked with Serena Williams — who many regard as the greatest female player of all-time.
In a video shared on his Instagram account, Mouratoglou explained why he disagrees with the criticism that French Open organisers have faced.
“The people who complain that there are no women’s matches in the night session, I think it’s unfair to Roland Garros,” said the Frenchman.
“Why? First of all, there is more exposure on day matches than night matches because it is on national TV.
“[The] audience is huge compared to platforms, so it is better for women’s tennis for exposure to be during the day than at night.
French Open News
Explained: Amelie Mauresmo’s French Open role amid ongoing scheduling controversy
“When you are tournament director, you have to please the fans and make a good business, that’s your job. They have only one match at night, if it’s a women’s match, that can be 6-1, 6-1 in one hour. People are going to be extremely unhappy.
“It’s a fact that men play five sets and women play three sets, you have to take that into consideration. When they buy a ticket for night, they want to see a superstar.
“On the women’s, there is Coco [Gauff], [Aryna] Sabalenka, but you cannot compare Sabalenka’s audience to [Carlos] Alcaraz or Novak [Djokovic].
“Most of the people who go to stadiums are not core fans of tennis — they want to come back home and say ‘I saw Djokovic’ or ‘I saw Alcaraz’. If they come back and they say ‘I saw Swiatek’, it’s not the same.
“It’s not only about leading players like Iga Swiatek, who is a four-time winner, and a three-time [reigning] winner at the moment. She’s not a superstar like Serena when she was playing or [Maria] Sharapova when she was playing.
“In 2021, I was coaching Serena and they scheduled her at night, it was the only women’s match scheduled at night. She’s a superstar. Even if it lasted one hour, people would come home and say: ‘Wow, I have seen Serena Williams’.”
READ NEXT: How Iga Swiatek can join icons Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova in exclusive Grand Slam club
