Iga Swiatek ‘disappointed’ by Amelie Mauresmo comments on French Open scheduling
World number one Iga Swiatek says it was “disappointing” and “surprising” to hear French Open Tournament director Amelie Mauresmo say that men’s game was more appealing than the women’s.
For the first time ever at this years event, night games have been scheduled and played in front of crowds at Roland Garros – following the route of both the US and Australian Open.
However the scheduling of the matches has led to some players being upset with their timings of matches and what courts they have played on – with the world number three Alexander Zverev claiming that certain players have been favoured in terms of scheduling.
On Wednesday, former world number one Amelie Mauresmo faced further scrutiny on the tournament’s scheduling as she was asked why women had only featured in one of the 10 night-match slots.
The French native replied to reporters saying, “In this era that we are in, I don’t feel bad or unfair – as a woman and former women’s player – saying that right now you have more appeal [in] general, for the men’s matches.
“My goal when I was doing the schedule every day was to try and see, from the first round when the draw came out, which women’s match I could put there, honestly.
“The confrontation or the star that I could put there. You have all those parameters.
“So that was tough. Honestly, I did really consider every day – not every day, that would be wrong – but most of the days, trying to see, and all the team, we were really focusing on this most of the time.”
Now, Iga Swiatek has responded to the comments made by Mauresmo saying she “disappointed” by the former Wimbledon champion’s remarks.
“I think women’s tennis has a lot of advantages. It is a little bit disappointing and surprising because she was also in the WTA.
“From my point of view, for every player it’s more convenient to play at a normal hour, but for sure I want to entertain and I also want to show my best tennis in every match.
“So I think it’s kind of the personal opinion of every person if they like men’s tennis or women’s tennis more, or if they like them equally.
“And some may say that it’s unpredictable and girls are not consistent.
“But on the other hand it may also be something that is really appealing and it may really attract more people. So it depends on the personal views of some people.”
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