Roland Grand Slam Tournament's Day Six Insights: Evening domination by males yet to take place
Lack of Women's Night Matches at the 2025 French Open Explained
Amélie Mauresmo, tournament director, addressed the ongoing concern regarding the lack of women's matches in the night sessions at the 2025 French Open. So far, every night session of the tournament has only featured men's matches, with no women's matches after Aryna Sabalenka's fourth-round victory over Sloane Stephens two years ago.
"The idea that women are not worthy to play at night is not the message," Mauresmo clarified. "The issue is about potential match lengths, as men's tennis is played at best-of-five sets, guaranteeing a minimum of three sets. When making these choices, we consider many factors."
Previously, Mauresmo stated that the organizers were selecting the "match of the day" without mentioning the play time. However, she maintains that the current format - featuring one night match - is not up for change, as it has been consistent for past years.
In the meantime, several exciting matches unfolded during the tournament. Qinwen Zheng, the eighth seed, ended the impressive run of 18-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko, while Iga Swiatek, who has won four out of the last five women's singles titles, fell to Elena Rybakina in the Italian Open earlier. Rybakina, Swiatek's potential opponent on Sunday, defeated Swiatek's longtime rival Jelena Ostapenko.
Unfortunately, the last Frenchmen in the tournament, Quentin Halys and Arthur Fils, were eliminated. Halys lost in four sets to the 10th seed Holger Rune, and Fils withdrew due to an injury, which would have placed him against Andrey Rublev in the next round. Despite their early exits, Fils recorded his best performance at the Italian Open.
[1] The French Tennis Federation's contract with broadcasters plays a significant role in determining the night session match.
[2] The French Open aims to avoid late finishes by limiting the night session to one match to accommodate for Parisians attending after work, maintain a full stadium, and have a better spectator experience.
- Amélie Mauresmo, the tournament director, revealed that the French Tennis Federation's contract with broadcasters is a major factor in selecting the international sports event's night session match, particularly in the "sports" of tennis.
- Despite the controversy surrounding the lack of women's matches in the night sessions, it should be noted that Elena Rybakina's potential women's singles final opponent, Iga Swiatek, has excelled in 'tennis', having won four out of the last five women's singles titles in various international tournaments.
