French Open bosses issue strong statement as star to be fined for ‘unacceptable’ comments | Tennis | Sport

French Open organisers have slammed Adolfo Daniel Vallejo’s “unacceptable” comments after the Paraguayan player claimed his second-round clash with Moise Kouame should have been “umpired by a man”, and said it would have been “very difficult for a woman”.

The world No. 71 suffered a 6-3 7-5 3-6 2-6 7-6(8) defeat to the 17-year-old wildcard on Court Suzanne-Lenglen on Thursday, in a match called by experienced Brazilian chair umpire Ana Carvalho. He felt she couldn’t control the French fans in the stands, though later backtracked and said his comments had been taken out of context. But the French Tennis Federation will be punishing Vallejo for his remarks.

“This sort of match needs to be umpired by a man; it’s very difficult for a woman to do it,” the 22-year-old told Clay magazine. “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.”

French Open organisers have now come down hard on Vallejo’s comments. Their statement read: “The French Tennis Federation and the Roland-Garros tournament organisers have taken note of Adolfo Daniel Vallejo’s comments about the umpire following his match on 28 May 2026, and deem these comments unacceptable.

“The competence of an umpire is not determined by their gender, but by their professionalism and ability to officiate at the highest level. The outcome of a sporting event, whether positive or negative, can never justify or excuse such remarks.

“The tournament organisers will impose a significant sanction on Adolfo Vallejo in the form of a fine.

“The Roland-Garros tournament strongly condemns all sexist remarks, regardless of who makes them, and offers its support to the match umpire and, more broadly, to all the tournament’s umpiring officials.”

The world No. 71 took to social media on Friday to clarify his comments, though he never denied them. He wrote: “Taken out of context. I never spoke about women in general, I spoke about the referee specifically, who didn’t handle the crowd at any point during the match. That said, I also didn’t say that I lost because of her. I congratulated the opponent and it’s normal for the crowd to cheer for the home player.”

Clay magazine stood by its reporting and replied: “It’s true that you didn’t say you lost because of her, and we didn’t write that either in @_claymagazine , Daniel. Our text explains everything with precision and the appropriate context. You can read it here. Interpretations and comments are not our responsibility.”

Vallejo received £112,665 (€130,000) in prize money for reaching the second round. It is not known how much he will be fined.

The Paraguayan came back from two sets down against Kouame and led 5-2 in the fifth, but was broken when serving for the match. The French wildcard forced a tiebreak and blew a 6-1 lead but recovered to win it 10-8. Vallejo suggested Carvalho couldn’t control the loud home crowd and hadn’t been happy with the amount of time the world No. 318 was given in between points.

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