ATP
Not all right on the night
THE scheduling for the French Open night games is once again under the spotlight – for the lack of a women’s match in the peak viewing slot.
There have been women’s matches, but not top of the bill. Why?
Tournament director Amelie Mauresmo explained that this time slot was reserved for the best match of the day – and the match that gets the bigger audience at Roland Garros is a men’s match.
Take a glance around the stands during the matches – the proof is there.
Some may argue, and rightly so, that there is a need to promote women’s matches.
And one journalist has called it out on social media.
“This year so far, none of the six nights will have had women’s matches scheduled. Tomorrow night [June 3], Zverev vs. Tiafoe. No Swiatek, Jabeur or Gauff vs. Andreeva.”
But let’s look deeper – as this is not a sexist issue.
Swiatek has made it clear that she doesn’t want to play night matches.
Last year Mauresmo apologised for saying women’s tennis did not have the same ‘appeal’.
But she is right – commercial reasons prove that – bums on seats in the arena and lower TV ratings.
And while we are in Paris, what is it with all this booing?
TUNISIAN Ons Jabeur was booed after she beat home star Oceane Dodin in round two at Roland Garros.
She admitted afterwards that the fans at Roland-Garros are “difficult” and didn’t enjoy being booed during the match.
“The French crowd is a bit difficult, I would say,” she said after the match. “I don’t like it when they boo, but that’s part of the game.
“They want French players to win. In the other countries, although I hit a good shot, they appreciate not necessarily here. They prefer me to miss, but it’s part of the game.”
Booing at a Grand Slam? To borrow from another sport … it’s just not tennis.
ANOTHER to be booed was American Taylor Fritz, jeered by fans after he beat Arthur Rinderknech 2-6 6-4 6-3 6-4.
Fritz celebrated his win by placing his finger to his lips as fans booed him.
“The crowd was just so great that I had to let it fire me up. They cheered so well for me, I wanted to make sure I won. Thanks guys,” the American said sarcastically in his on-court interview.
AND…. What was this all about…?
Video footage has emerged of a photographer being dragged out of the arena during Carlos Alcaraz’s match with Denis Shapovalov.
A clip by Eurosport Polska shows the four members of security dragging the journalist out of the arena. The reasons for his rejection are as of now uncertain.
BELARUSIAN World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka opted to skip a press conference after her win over Kamilla Rakhimova during the week, citing safety reasons.
Some have likened the boycott to that of former former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka, who had a history of skipping press conferences, claiming a variety of reasons, including mental health, while simultaneously posting on her social media channels promoting sponsors.
But Sabalenka’s is more likely because of the ongoing issues between her and Ukrainian players.
“For my own mental health and well-being, I decided to take myself out of this situation today, and the tournament has supported me in this. On Wednesday I didn’t feel safe in press conference,“ she said.
Didn’t feel safe from what?
Journalists doing their job and asking her about her homeland’s support of Russia in its invasion of another sovereign country.
WITH Tennis participation in the US apparently surging, the USTA announced last week its marketing campaign for the 2023 US Open will be led by someone called ‘Cookie’.
Who? You may well ask. And GST asked a couple of savvy younger generation – answer: who?
The USTA’s creative agency, Dentsu Creative, wants to connect with younger potential fans.
New Jersey-native Cookie Kawaii (real name Vanice Palmer) has had a couple of Twitter hits with ‘Vibe’ and ‘Violin’ and according to USTA’s marketing guru, Nicole Kankam, “is a unique talent with a distinctive voice that we think can further connect with new fans as the future of tennis shines bright under the spotlight of the US Open.”
‘Violin’ a rap song, has apparently been streamed 40 million times.
The US Open will begin Monday, August 28 and end on Sunday, September 10.
NO great shock that Daniil Medvedev was dumped out of the French Open last week in the first round – although by a rank outsider might have been more of an eye-opener.
No. 172-ranked Thiago Seyboth Wild, a 23-year-old Brazilian virtual unknown, overcame cramps before dominating the back end of the match.
“It definitely was the happiest day of my life,” Seyboth Wild said after the match.
“I knew it was going to be a tough match, but I knew how to play. I have watched him play 1,000 times already. I just had to believe in myself.”
BUT did you know that in 2021, Seyboth Wild faced a lawsuit filed by his ex-girlfriend Thayane Lima and was investigated by police in Rio de Janeiro over allegations of mental and physical abuse.
He denied the allegations, describing them as “fabricated and vengeful claims”.
And Medvedev? He has always struggled on clay and has shown distaste for the surface over a number of years.
BIANCA Andreescu has tapped into a new source to get her back to winning ways on court: her Romanian grandmother.
“I started thinking about my grandmother because she’s getting old, and I’m very close to her. She said – in Romanian, she doesn’t speak English – ‘Bianca, I really want to watch you win another major’,” Andreescu said in Paris on Tuesday, after beating Victoria Azarenka.
And having her grandmother close helps Andreescu realise that success on the tennis court is worth fighting for.
“The last few weeks haven’t been easy for me, just like recovering from my injury and all that stuff,” she said.
“I’m still not 100 per cent. I still get pain here and there. I just have to push through it and not think that it’s bad pain.
“My fighting spirit is back, so that feels nice.”
Photo: Roger Parker International Sports Fotos Ltd
AMERICAN Jessica Pegula has revealed she got food poisoning shortly after arriving in Paris and said she was “a zombie for two days.”
Pegula arrived in the French capital on Tuesday went to a restaurant for a meal.
“I don’t know exactly what did the damage,” she told the BBC.
“I had escargots (snails) – I love escargots – but everyone else in my group had them. I also had salmon so maybe it was a bad piece of fish.
“I was throwing up for the whole night and I couldn’t sleep much. I didn’t practise on Wednesday, I practised on Thursday – but it was not pretty.
“I could barely do anything. I was getting a lot of nausea and acid reflux, I wasn’t eating.
“I was afraid to eat anything. I didn’t have an appetite. It lingered for four or five days but I wasn’t able to just sit in bed, I had a bunch of stuff to do.”
CAM Norrie should think himself lucky there are no video replays in tennis – or he would be playing well into the early hours, if the delays annoying soccer fans are any indication.
Norrie called for replays to be used in tennis after a umpiring controversy in his second-round victory over Lucas Pouille at the French Open.
Umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore failed to spot a double bounce at a key moment in the third set of Norrie’s 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 win.
Both men said afterwards a video replay might have resolved the issue – albeit that soccer overtime now often extends games for lengthy periods while referees still debate a ruling with their VAR system that also still got it wrong.
AND finally … Rafa Nadal pumps his fist after undergoing minor surgery for a psoas muscle injury in a Barcelona hospital.
The what muscle?
The psoas muscle is one of a number of muscles that overlie the vertebral column in your back.
Alexander Zverev took a further step towards a defence of his 2025 title at the ATP Munich event with a comfortable 6-1, 6-2 hammering of Canada’s Gabriel Diallo on Thursday.
The German who won his only title of 2025 in his home nation faced an opponent carrying an injury in the 73-minute loss.
“I think he had some issues with his back and wasn’t serving fully in the second set anymore. Very unfortunate,” the 28-year-old world No. 3 said.
“Of course I am happy with the win and getting an easier match today.”
After days of cold weather, the spring sun finally made an appearance in the Bavarian capital.
Zverev advanced the the last eight with five breaks of serve and will bid fro a return to the semi-finals against fifth seed Francisco Cerundolo, a winner over Botic van de Zandschulp 6-3, 6-0.
“I played well from the baseline. I probably didn’t serve well in the first set, but it got better in the second. I am trying to improve every day,” the winner said as he reached a second straight quarter-final here..
Zverev has won their last four meetings.
“I’ve never beaten him on clay, which is his favourite surface, but I am definitely looking forward to the challenge,” Zverev said.
“I’m very happy to be at this stage, facing a tough opponent. That’s what it’s going to be tomorrow.”
Main photo:- Alexander Zverev with his 2025 Munich trophy
Roland Garros will continue to buck the trend of electronic linecalling, with Grand Slam tournament boss Amelie Mauresmo laying down the law on Thursday in Paris.
Unlike the other three majors which have sent teams of line judges into early retirement, the clay major will stick with the tried and true for another edition beginning on May 24.
In addition to tradition, the skid marks left on the dirt by ball makes determining in or out subjective enough to often require a keen eye.
“They are not 100% reliable,” Mauresmo said of the electronic systems currently in use.“Our decision was to stick to our way.”
But the former WTA No. 1 suddenly flipped the script when it comes to the controversial suggestion that women should play best-of-five-sets at the four majors just like the men.
The idea has drawn scorn from top women, but that does not dissuade Mauresmo.
“You can’t change a format overnight to go from best of three to best of five. But if we think about it, would it be only the semifinal, the final, or for all matches?” the former Wimbledon champion said.
“This could be a win-win situation but we have to talk about this with the women players.”
The Wimbledon winner admitted that she had often yearned during her playing days for longer contests.
“When I did the Masters (season-ending) final ( 2005) I would have wanted to do the final in best of five. So maybe one day, you never know.”
The former player would not be drawns out on the dreaded night matches at Roland Garros, formerly a fully daytinem event.
“We will talk about scheduling when the time comes,” she said.“Nothing is closed and nothing is set in stone, it depends on the draws and the lineups.”
Also on the table are likely to be the distribution of night matches, with women barely registering in the night-tiem hours during the 2025 edition.
On the final Saturday there has been one change: The men’s doubles final will be played before the women’s singles final and not afterward.
“We will talk about scheduling when the time comes,” the TD said. “Nothing is closed and nothing is set in stone, it depends on the draws and the lineups.”
In the continuing prize money arms race among the four Grand Slams, Roland Garros announced a rise to a global USD 72 million in player payouts, a rise of USD 6.25 million.
Carlos Alcaraz quit the Barcelona Open with a wrist injury and cast serious doubt on his fitness and availability for run-up events prior to next month’s French Open.
The Spaniard who lost his No. 1 ranking to Jannik Sinner through Sunday’s loss to the Italian in the Monte Carlo Casters final was unable to carry on at his home event in Barcelona.
Alcaraz quit the clay event prior to his second-round match against Tomas Machac. The Spaniard injured his wrist in a first-round win over Finn Otto Virtanen and warned that he could make no solid commitment yet to furue play due to his injury.
“It’s with great sadness I have to go back home to start my recovery as soon as possible with my team, with the doctors, with the physio, and try to be as healthy as possible as soon as possible for (future) tournaments,” he said.
“Let’s hope, that you can see me back on a tennis court as soon as possible.”
Alcaraz is now touch and go for the Madrid Masters oddly starting in a week next Wednesday as the ATP stretches out the Masters events in an unpopular money-spinning exercise.
Alcarraz could face a serious hit to his ranking if he cannot front up in the Spanish capital and next month in Rome, with titles to defend in both venues.
“But I’ve seen today’s tests, and it’s a slightly more serious injury than we all expected.
“In the end I have to listen to my body, what won’t affect me later on: That’s why I have to withdraw from this tournament.
“I never like to withdraw from any tournament, but especially from this one,”
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