Paris – Amelie Mauresmo, the French Open tournament director, has confirmed there are no immediate plans to alter the format for night matches at Roland Garros. However, she acknowledged that the current situation, where men`s singles matches predominantly fill the prime-time slot on Court Philippe-Chatrier, is “not ideal.”
Tournament organizers have once again faced criticism from players this year concerning the scheduling at Roland Garros. The night match, which is a separately ticketed event, has exclusively featured men`s singles matches throughout the 2025 tournament, continuing a trend from previous years. This pattern has drawn questions and critiques from players including Ons Jabeur and Coco Gauff.
Earlier in the week, French Tennis Federation president Gilles Moretton suggested the choice was made to “put the better match … for the spectators [at night].” Mauresmo echoed this stance, explaining that the decision for the night slot also takes into account potential match duration. She highlighted that men`s matches are best-of-five sets, whereas women`s are best-of-three.
“Regarding the night session scheduling, there`s nothing new compared to previous editions,” Mauresmo stated on Friday. “We feature one single match per night session, and this hasn`t changed. Therefore, we won`t be altering the entire setup again.”
She further explained, “Potential playtime is also considered, as we obviously cannot plan ahead for either women`s or men`s tennis. However, we must take into account the 15,000 spectators attending the night session. Since men`s tennis is played as best-of-five sets, a minimum of three sets will be played. It`s difficult for us to manage it differently.”
Mauresmo clarified that this reasoning was not intended to imply that women players were “not worthy” of playing in the night slot.
A suggestion, put forward by players like Coco Gauff, involved changing the night slot to feature two matches, but Mauresmo dismissed this possibility.
The day session on Chatrier typically includes three matches, often starting with a women`s singles match before smaller crowds, followed by the single night match. The French Tennis Federation (FFT) and broadcasters jointly decide which match occupies the night slot, although players can express their preference.
“We`ve decided to keep the three matches during the day,” Mauresmo said. “If we were to move two of those to the evening session, this discussion [about gender balance] wouldn`t be happening.”
However, she added, “In my opinion, if we aim to avoid finishing too late, we cannot schedule five matches during the day. … If we scheduled two matches in the night sessions, it wouldn`t work in terms of how late the players would finish. Those are my thoughts.”
Mauresmo acknowledged that she understands the dilemma of the situation.
“It`s not ideal,” she concluded. “We can`t satisfy every requirement because we have numerous factors to consider when making these decisions.”
